In an age where the internet has taken over how people communicate with each other, it is evident that social media plays a big role in society today. Journalism has been overlooked nowadays due to the masses looking towards Google, Yahoo and other search engines for simple news stories and information. This has changed the way news is being reported phenomenally, as well.
Social media has allowed news to reach a new variety of people and different audiences, depending on the news being reported while also allowing different people to distribute and filter through stories, according to this article on The Economist.
“News is no longer gathered exclusively by reporters and turned into a story but emerges from an ecosystem in which journalists, sources, readers and viewers exchange information.”
The changing of the well-known traditional system of people receiving their news via newspaper started to occur not too long ago, and many were not comfortable with the change. In fact, there was much hostility towards the new tools being used by the new generation in social media.
Journalists have finally seen the light, however. Social media brings about a broader view of what the masses are thinking, saying and wondering on different events and news stories all around the world. Not only is this a change in America, but a global change.
As Nicholas Kristof mentions in an op-ed (The Daily Me), newspapers have been dying out because of users of social media — everyone is their own editor or gatekeeper. The fact of the matter is, social media seldom provides the masses with a filter; we are fit to search whatever we want, whenever we want. Kristof implies that the masses are becoming politically segregated because of social media and the option to search information that provide to our prejudices and opinions. His take on everything is to simply explore opinions that which we are not comfortable with; it will help provide a better perspective and view. The only problem is, journalists are not here to filter anymore. It is all on the audience now.
The digital age has brought about more information on reports on how Amazon, Google, Yahoo and other search engines are not the only “technology giants” making an impact on people who heavily depend on social media. It affects the state of mind and thinking skills, but Gringas explains that a media shift is not the end of the world. Instead, he believes that the internet and social media is slowly making the U.S. more democratic, as the prime example was the 2012 presidential election. Twitter and Facebook were heavily used and tampered with to speak on issues from both parties. The effects of social media can be positive and the results show in reality.