How to curate your social media with a critical public audience?

Social media is a powerful platform to quickly broadcast information to a large population with a click of a button. With the vast amount of information on the internet, social media influencers must ensure the information they post information that is real and accurate. This is crucial especially when the viewers are critical audiences, as they will more likely challenge the influencer’s content and information based on their existing beliefs. Moreover, a social media account should have content that aligns with their audience’s interests. For example, if an account advocate for inclusive education, the posts should be within the focus on education and inclusion. This ensures that the audience receives consistent value when following the account.

What are the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?

Notable individuals use social media to connect with people around the world with the same interests and passions to share ideas and find inspiration from other individuals in the same media space (Smith). Through interacting with people with the same interests, individuals are able to learn from others about their field of interests and gain first-hand knowledge and insight. This can help individuals build a connection with the people online. Social media allows people to gain perspectives from individuals that are not in their silo (Smith). For example, a lawyer in Toronto can communicate with a lawyer in Victoria about a challenge or issue they faced at their workplace. The lawyer in Victoria is able to provide the other lawyer a new perspective outside of the Toronto lawyer’s community. This way their suggestions and observations may be more objective. In addition, the public audiences can serve as objective voices to provide rational guidance. In the best-case scenario, individuals are able to connect with someone online that recognizes their passion and suggests them to pursue a career or offer them a job.

However, the downside of engaging with a public audience on social media is greater for people who are in a position of trust. People in important, public roles should be more cautious about the information they put on social media, to prevent spreading fake information. For example, the ex-United States president, Donald Trump was actively engaged on Twitter, where he posted false information online. One of the infamous examples is when he announced on Twitter that he won the 2021 presidential election. As an authority, people will be more likely to believe the information that he posts online. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the information is accurate, otherwise, an individual in a position of trust could be hated on and lose their credibility.

How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer social media policy?

The best way to address negative replies is to first build a positive presence online that reflects your work, personal values, and experiences. A social media profile can act as a platform to expose one’s strengths and showcase one’s brand (Vance). Future employers can view an individual’s social media to get a sense of who they are. Moreover, users should address negative replies by maintaining professionalism. This includes not swearing, being respectful, and provide evidence-based claims to support their point.

Why do open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict?

Media literacy is the constant critical questioning of all the media (Smith). Media allow people to learn a lot and find information to confirm and reassure one’s believes (Smith). This act of picking what media to look at to confirm our own pre-existing beliefs is called pull media. Once someone finds information that supports their own view, it is hard for them to believe the opposing ideas. This can create conflict between people with opposite views, as people have evidence to support their claim. For example, if someone saw a news article about how COVID-19 is fake when they already believe that. It is harder to change their views. As a result, even when they are faced with oppositive information (saying COVID-19 exists and is real) they will argue that it is false.

What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

When an individual has a PLN that value media literacy, they are able to gain information that is accurate. This is important as now there is too much information out there, and it is hard to tell what is true or false (Smith). When a PLN is able to critically question the media, they are more likely to post information that is pre-filtered to be real. This saves time for others in their PLN to fact-check the information they see. Furthermore, within the PLN it is important to follow people that have views that oppose your own or view that make you feel uncomfortable (Smith). This allows individuals to become well-rounded people and see both sides of a story (Smith).

References:

Smith, Julie. “EDCI 338 – MEDIA LITERACY with JULIE SMITH”. Youtube.Com, 6 June 2021, 3:00-27:40, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0. Accessed 10 June 2021.

Vance, Jody. “Jody Vance – Media Voices”. Youtube.Com, 6 June 2021, 9:00-27:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-NnpQJdl0A. Accessed 10 June 2021.