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breaking news: we live in a social media society
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ith the rise of social media and new technology, breaking news from across the globe has become more accessible than ever before. Anyone can see what is happening anywhere in a split second, while also being able to comment, share, and interact with said news. According to Statista, In the United States, social media and television is the source of 85% of news, with the leading social network provider of news being Facebook, while radio and print papers make up only 11%. Being able to share and receive news from across the globe with the touch of a button can connect people more than ever. “I think that people are more aware of what’s going on across the globe because we are so connected through social media, so things that are happening like the Hong Kong protests, we are well aware of, even here in Liberty, Missouri because we are seeing it through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook,” theater teacher Kim Lenger said. According to the Pew Research center, there is an average of 21,711,285 unique visitors to digital news outlets every month. However, with such a constant flow of information, it can have both positive and negative effects on society. “I think that when you have something where you are constantly receiving bad information, you can get to this point where you do not really see it as a threat anymore and you just become numb to it. Because you are constantly receiving this information, you get to that point where you will hear about a mass shooting and forget about it in a week. I feel like that
is happening a lot among our generation and it makes it so that, it is not that people do not care, it is just that people have become so accustomed to it that it does not stay substantial in our minds,” junior Meghan Hammond said. With such easy access to news and information, this can lead to some people depending solely on social media and online news outlets for information about what is going on in the world. According to Statista, an average of 42.4% of Americans rely on online national news outlets to stay informed. “By having constant access to news, I definitely think it impedes people’s opinions because if you see something on one news site, typically people that are not as informed just use that one opinion of whatever is going on in the world. People not getting out in the world and hearing more hurts a lot,” junior Kyle Leighton-Floyd said. Along with online news outlets and social media becoming a more prevalent source of news, there has also come along the rise of what some have dubbed “fake news”. In fact, according to Statista, 60% of Americans believe that social media has in some way contributed to the spread of said “fake news”. “I think the media used to be a lot less biased and it was a lot harder for people to be biased because everything was pretty much local. But now when you expand everyone’s world view with companies like CNN or Fox News, which are very split down party lines, it is something where people are getting fed so much information they do not know which side to believe and so now it is less focused on accuracy, it is more focused on opinion,” Hammond said. Another aspect of social media that has become more prevalent in the last couple of years is how it is helping and/or harming the spread of environmental awareness. For some, it seems to be doing more bad than good. “It is a lot easier to click and share something
By having constant access to news, I definitely think it impedes people’s opinions because if you see something on one news site, typically people that are not as informed just use that one opinion of whatever is going on in the world,” Junior Kyle leighton-floyd
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