· Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes and questions above, reflecting on how you would curate your social media with a critical public audience.
The first important step in creating a social media is to identify the general style and audience of the social media platform. As Sophie Lui mentioned in the interview: she prefers to post about her daily life on instagram, while she prefers to post more critical and personal opinions on twitter.
By comparing the content posted by users on the two platforms, I learned that users on different social media platforms have different perspectives on how they judge things.
· Identify 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)?
The influence of social media on the public can be seen in politics, business, education, and other professional fields.
- The influence of social media on politics
The election of Donald J. Trump is perhaps the most stark example yet of how social networks are helping to fundamentally reshape human society on a global scale.” Because social media allow people to communicate more freely with each other, they are helping to create surprisingly influential social organizations among once marginalized groups. - Social media’s impact on society
Nowadays, nearly a quarter of the world’s population is on Facebook. In the United States, nearly 80 percent of all Internet users use this platform. Since social networks thrive on human interaction, they have become more and more powerful as they have grown.
Thanks to the Internet, every person with a marginal view can see that he is not alone. When these people find each other through social media, they can do something – create modalities, publications and the entire online world to enhance their worldview, which then becomes mainstream.
Without social media, social, ethical, environmental and political ills would be left untouched. The increased visibility of issues has shifted the balance of power from a few to the masses.
Risk: While social media activism has led to increased awareness of social issues, questions remain about whether this awareness is translating into real change. Social sharing encourages people to use computers and cell phones to express their concerns about social issues without actually engaging in real-life activities. Their support is limited to pressing the “thumbs up” button or sharing content.
· How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer’s social media policy?
No matter how much you fear or try to avoid negative comments and criticism, negative talk will always happen. We need to accept the fact that not everyone will agree with us. Arguments will happen and not everyone will be tolerant of others. What we need to do is discern in these comments if there is advice in them that will help you, and if so, we can reflect on our own problems and correct them. If it’s just meaningless abuse, we don’t need to spend our energy to pay attention to it.