Social Media and Truth (2-3)

Image credit: Jason Taellious (CC BY-SA 2.0)

How do you know what you know? Name one new thing you learned using a social media site today and explain why you believe it is true. What source did you use to acquire this information? At times, are social media sites reliable for obtaining credible information?

Gaining Knowledge

The epistemological question has challenged philosophers and scholars for millennia, and I am ill-equipped to tackle the question on a grand scale in a limited blog post; what follows is my commonsense approach to knowledge acquisition. I know what I know largely through the knowledge of personal discovery (knowledge gained firsthand and acquired by my own sensory experience) and second-hand knowledge acquired through communication with others, whether that be through reading, conversation, or some other form of communication.

These two categories of information acquisition—life experience and shared knowledge—take many different forms: reading (both in school and on my own; my parents and teachers instilled in me a love for the library); formal education (both firsthand—science experiments, for example—and secondhand—lectures, handouts, etc.); informal education, such as through television programs (Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, educational programming, and non-educational shows); and other texts, both written and spoken, print and electronic. In particular, information I've gained through television and internet sources illustrates, as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel (2010) note, "'what social scientists call 'incidental news acquisition'—when people learn about things they might not be interested in" (19). Secondhand knowledge can be connected to other learning as a limited form of verification through text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world associations. I might read about a concept I've read about elsewhere, encounter an idea that corresponds to (or even contradicts) what I've experienced firsthand, or come across a thought that is similar to what I know of the world through secondhand knowledge.

That knowledge is constantly being tested and reevaluated and is subject to modification; urban myths give one example of how misinformation can be spread, and someone exposed to erroneous information (say, that there are only five senses) can modify that view when exposed to additional information (for example, that proprioception—the sense of balance—and interoception—internal senses such as hunger, fullness, or the need to use the bathroom—illustrate senses beyond sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch). In short, I know what I know through a combination of personal experience and shared knowledge, subject to questioning and revision through a skeptical attitude or the chance encounter with new or contradictory evidence about a specific claim.

Social Media as Teaching Tools

I learned today that, at least by one measure, the air quality in the U.S. has improved over the last nine years. Nitrogen dioxide, one significant air pollutant, has become a less prevalent constituent of the air Americans breathe, according to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on a satellite operated by NASA. Kovach and Rosenstiel (2010) present a definition of truth based on Howie Schneider's work at SUNY at Stony Brook—"Truth is a statement of what is most probable in proportion to the evidence available at the time" (p. 32)—that seems applicable to this information. I believe this to be true because the source illustrates ethos (credibility) and logos (facts, reason): the article and its accompanying video are found on the web site of Time magazine—a well-known, reputable source—and feature information gathered from a major government agency and explained by an atmospheric scientist, and they present a number of facts, including the percentage decrease of the pollutant in two major metropolitan areas as well as a graphic representing the concentration of nitrogen dioxide on a U.S. map in two different years. The video also presents a warning that there are other major air pollutants that may not have seen a similar decline, illustrating "the hallmarks of vetted news [:] a multiplicity of sources and a skepticism of what those sources say" (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2010, p.38). This interesting nugget of information came to me through the conduit of a social media site and appears to be credible.

Source of Acquisition & Reliability of Social Media

Despite its poor reputation in some circles, Twitter is the social media site through which I was exposed to the aforementioned bit of information. While social media sites are sometimes derided by citizens and cultural critics as promoting superficial, vapid, or self-centered thinking, this need not be the case at all. In fact, Nick Bilton, technology writer for The New York Times, argued on a podcast that—even though he grew up reading newspapers and appreciates that older informtion delivery system—Twitter is a primary source of information for him (2010). As with interpersonal relations, quality comes from whom one associates with; by following the Twitter accounts of trusted news sources or influential figures in intellectual circles, it is quite easy to increase the likelihood of the "incidental news acquisition" mentioned earlier.

NASA: U.S. air pollution has plummeted in the last 10 years http://t.co/X103IC15Mw
— TIME.com (@TIME) June 29, 2014

I find that most of the information I get from social media channels comes not from those media themselves but from the sources they refer to or sites they link to. This is known as "aggregation, or being a gateway to the work of others" (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2010, p. 50). Particularly in this regard, social media sites are most definitely capable of being reliable sources of credible information. Because credible information may be intermingled with spurious reports, self-absorbed personal reflections of web users, or information distorted for ideological purposes, savvy social media users must undoubtedly be more cautious with them than other sources of information, but these sites' potential as vehicles of sound information delivery is tremendous.

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References

Fisher, A. and Bilton, N. (2010, September 15). New Media. All Sides with Ann Fisher. Podcast retrieved from http://wosu.org/2012/allsides/npr-ombudsman-new-media/

Korvach, B. & Rosenstiel, T. (2010). Blur: How to know what's true in the age of information overload. New York: Bloomsbury.

Influence of the Media (1-5)

Image credit: TomvdW (CC BY-SA 3.0)

In your first entry, answer these questions: What forms of new media do you use daily? How has new social media influenced your perspective of events? Are these positive or negative influences? 

Sources of Daily New Media Interaction

On a daily basis, I use new media to keep informed about my friends' and family members' lives; share personal or family matters with colleagues, family, and acquaintances; learn about current events, breaking news stories, and upcoming movies; discover articles about topics that interest me; network with professionals and develop my personal career brand; investigate subjects I am curious about; and find entertainment and pleasant diversions.

• Facebook — I visit this social media powerhouse several times a day (usually in the morning and evening) to catch up on my friends' and family members' lives, share pictures and information about what my family and I are up to with my out-of-state relatives, and discover links to both serious articles of importance and to humorous or quirky articles, pictures, or memes.

• Twitter — I access my Twitter account not for salacious gossip but rather to follow news sources and major influencers in technology and cyberculture. I also use it to announce updates to my technology blog, Augmented Me.

• Google+ — While Facebook is where I go for updates from relatives and friends, Google+ is my link to communities of individuals who share similar interests. I have been a Google Glass Explorer for the past year, and I've made connections with hundreds or fellow beta testers through this site.

• LinkedIn — Although I've only had an active LinkedIn account for the past month, I now frequently update my professional profile to develop my career brand and set the stage for potential future job opportunities.

• mySNHU/Blackboard — Now that I am seeking a second Master's degree and am enrolled in a graduate Communications program with a concentration in New Media and Marketing, these sites are essential to my success in my all-online courses.

Other Regular New Media Sources

There are several other new media sources I regularly turn to, although I find myself using these on a weekly rather than a daily basis.

• Blogger — As my full-time job, part-time graduate courses, and family responsibilities keep my quite busy, I don't update my digital technology and cyberculture blog as frequently as I might like, but I try to post updates about my experiences with my various wearable devices regularly.

• Wikipedia — While I would never use the popular online encyclopedia for serious scholarly reference, it does provide a great source of general information about popular culture, gaps in my knowledge, and answers to questions my inquisitive 4- and 5-year-old daughters ask out of the blue.

• Flipboard — A neat mobile app that provides credible news stories that can be easily read with the flick on my thumb, I typically review the Sunday Flipboard overview for a recap of the week's news.

• Pandora — Both the web and mobile app versions of this music platform provide me with customized playlists and an interactive source of information about musicians when I am in my office or on the road.

Social Media Influence on My Perspective of Events

Perhaps the greatest influence that social media have had on my perspective of world events is that "likes" and "shares" are a form of word-of-mouth endorsements being applied to news and informations rather than products and services.

When purchasing a car, booking hotel reservations, or looking for a plumber, I will consult reviews and testimonials from complete strangers on various sites (Consumer Reports, Amazon.com, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, for example). Now, I find that a like or share from an individual in my personal circles of friends or family serves as a de facto endorsement. If one friend finds a link or news report worth sharing, I'm more likely to click on or read it that if I had come across the headline as a link on a web page I was reading on my own; if multiple friends share the same link, that serves as a strong endorsement of the content.

This social media influence is beginning to rival that of traditional mass media sources such as books, newspapers, radio, and television. Curtis (2012) has noted that it is now common to "make decisions based on the information that we gather from those [...] interpersonal media sources" (para. 4). The "wisdom of the crowds" approach to news applies even to social media not based on my own personal network of relatives and acquaintances. Facebook, Twitter, and other sites display information about hashtags, searches, or topics that are "trending"—another form of tacit endorsement.

I also find that I can be dissuaded from reading about an issue or event if too many people post about it. I have disdain for birthday greetings and celebrity death notices (not to mention online games and silly quizzes) because my news feed becomes inundated by messages on the same topic.


Are These Influences Positive or Negative?

These digital media exert influences benign, baleful, and beneficial. As Neil Postman, the late cultural critic and prolific writer, notes in his 1993 book Technopoly, "it is a mistake to suppose that any technological innovation has a one-sided effect. Every technology is both a burden and a blessing; not either-or, but this-and-that" (p. 4-5). New media most definitely illustrate that precept, and digital technologies have both devoted advocates and nostalgic critics—what Clive Thompson refers to as "utopians" and "apocalyptics" in his 2013 book Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better. I can think of clear benefits and drawbacks to the influence social media have had on my perspective of events:

Advantageous effects

• updates on friends and family I might not otherwise be in regular contact with
• exposure to ideas and articles I might not come across on my own
• simple method for sharing my thoughts with a broad audience inaccessible to me through traditional channels
• real-time updates and information (during the Boston Marathon bombing, for example, I was able to more quickly find out what was happening on Facebook than I was through radio and television reports)

Harmful consequences

• shallow interactions cannot substitute for deep, meaningful social engagement
• sound-bite clips, image-based memes, and brief texts may create the illusion of the knowledge of current events where a substantive understanding is absent
• the above may decrease the likelihood of individuals reading about important political and social matters in a more critical, informed manner
• these media may create an "echo chamber" or "media bubble" effect that reinforces a narrow range of interpretations and masks or denigrates alternative viewpoints

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References

Curtis, A.R. (2012, June 23). Mass media influence on society. Retrieved from http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/PDFs/Mass_Media_Influence_on_Society.pdf

Postman, N. 1992. Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. New York: Vintage.

Thompson, C. (2013). Smarter than you think: how technology is changing our minds for the better. New York: Penguin Press.