Public PLN & Media Literacy
In general, social media is an important part of our daily lives, at least for the majority of us. Nonetheless, everyone uses social media for a different type of reason. Some may use it for marketing, news, selling music, concerts, etc. There are many different reasons why people use social media daily. This is just like appearing in the public eye PLN, which can portray the information to be very impactful on people. For example, celebrities with millions of followers tend to have a lot of attention around them. With every picture, post, and the word being viewed by many people, they need to be careful of what they say or do, as it may have serious consequences. Celebrities may also be able to use this as leverage to reach out to people who are in power and normally donât respond to ânormalâ people who donât have the same following.
Also, having a well-constructed PLN which has reliable sources in todayâs world is very valuable. As more and more information is being spread, not all of it is factual and correct. That is why having verified and trusted sources can lead to a form a lot of a controlled setting without and reason to worry or panic. Add on, this is why people must improve their ability to distinguish between the real and factual information so that they can build a dependable PLN.
When I first created my Instagram page, I had it set to public, and as a result, I had a lot of random people that I never know follow me and like my pictures. Although it was an online follow, it creeped me out that I actually donât know that person, and they could be doing something to my pictures or to get something out of me. My intention when creating a social media page was not to have a large number of followers, rather, it was to have a community where I share my thoughts and feelings through pictures with my friends and family, and thatâs when I chose to go private and only have followers I know. Just like real life, social media has different walks of people from all over the globe, and this results in both benefits and risks when engaging with people of such. Thatâs why having a public page is not for everyone, as not everyone is using social media for the same purpose.
We live in a powerful media world where the media can influence us in many different ways that we have never thought of, and we donât get how powerful this influence is. All of us social media users should analyze media to understand both how and why media messages are being created, and for what purpose that is? We must understand and learn media literacy. This also includes the ability to read through the lines of a message, depicting whatâs wrong to right and vice versa. Alongside being able to use the power of information to create and use these messages to act on certain things in our world, which can have a positive impact.
References
Miller, J. [MILLER]. (2021, June 6). EDCI 338 â MEDIA LITERACY with JULIE SMITH [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0
Miller, J. [MILLER].(2022, June 6).Sophie Lui â EDCI 338 [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0
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