The ninth week of Social Media & Society has introduced us to political motives, fake news and The Newsroom. This weeks also included a book presentation by group three on It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, written by Nada Boyd. Their presentation discussed how teens and young adults use and apply different platforms on social media. The read provides a sensible perspective based on her conversations from teens who actually use these applications, and not from theories. The book overall seemed very informative on teenager’s experiences with social media and Boyd weighed in on an important topic in society today. Group three was pleased with their read and recommended it for anyone searching from an intriguing thesis.

It is late October and the race to the Presidency is a national dilemma. The first Presidential debate was dominated by shouting and outlandish statements by both parties. The two men frequently interrupted and talk over each other. It reached a certain point where Democratic representative Joe Biden said, “Will you shut up man?”. Neither side was clearly able to address the moderators questions and give clarity viewers and voters. The second and final Presidential debate was held last night at 9:00 PM EDT. The two candidates, compared to the first debate, were much more controlled and restrained in the last debate. The candidates allowed each other to speak and used respectful tones. Even when they went on the attack, they did so in a calm, deliberate manner. As the debate progressed President Trump proclaimed a vaccine that he said would be ready “in weeks”. He offered personal testimony to the power of the new drugs to treat the disease and boasted the he was now immune. Biden used this opportunity and went on the Attack. He pointed out that Trump had repeatedly promised the disease would disappear on its own. He also said that America had lost 220,000 people and could possibly lose another 200,000 by the end of the year. President Trump also gloated about his criminal justice reform and funding for historically black colleges. He questioned why the former Vice-President did not accomplish more when he served under the Barack Obama administration. Trump said, “Why didn’t you get it done? You had eight years to get it done”.

Imbedded in media and in the news today, false information or disinformation is a serious issue. Companies and corporations today seem more concerned about their next check rather than informing their citizens. People in general are not being served the same media they were decades ago. These sources are not invested in the role the media is supposed to play in a free democratic society, which is to do genuine investigative reporting. I believe the only way we can return to true, factual information is not to become more authoritarian, but we can to revive our true sense of democracy.

This is not my first encounter with the series The Newsroom. Doctor Schlegel first introduced The Newsroom to me in Mass Media in American Life in 2019. This entire TV series is charming and electric. It tackles how news agency are drifting from hard news stories and saved by Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) and his team. I have only watched a few episodes but I trying to find time to watch each season through on HBO!

Published by: Samuel Erickson

Weekly News Article: The BBC News takes a deeper look at the statements made in the final 2020 Presidential debate. Are their allegations true or false ?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/election-us-2020-54645608