The Flaws of Main Stream Media

Main Stream Media is something that most people today are exposed to on a daily basis or are at least familiar with. A lot of people have mistrust in mainstream media for the information that is told is not always true. This happens when most of the media outlets are owned by most of the same few companies. There used to be about 50 companies that own all the news outlets. These range from newspapers, news shows, magazines, radio stations, etc. These companies used to all have their own that could fill all of the news outlets. However, today there are only 5 companies that own all of these news outlets.

Having only 5 companies own all of the stations that give out our information and news stories might sound nice, but, it is quite dangerous. This gives them the power to show only what they want to show. This can limit the amount of information we receive and even which information we receive. The editors can decide what they want to expose the population to, making it hard for them to be trustworthy. This can greatly affect the trust in people or even shape our beliefs. If the information we receive is controlled then it can change the way we think. 

These 5 companies or, “The Big Five”, own all of the news stations that give out the information we hear from all of our news stations. They all have their own beliefs and opinions on the information they receive and they are going to portray that information in a way that makes it look better for them. All of these companies (Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, News Corporation, Warner Media - AT&T, and ViacomCBS) have the power to warp the way we think about things. Now I am not necessarily saying that they are using their power for this, but who is to say what information they are withholding from us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainstream_media

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_media

https://www.conservapedia.com/Mainstream_media

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/mainstream-vs-alternative-media-21113.html

Echo Chamber Effect

There are many dangers in today’s world that threaten the individuality of people and who they are. Some of them we don’t even recognize that we have been trapped in. One of the threats is getting caught in an echo chamber. This might not sound like much but it can take away creativity, free-thinking, and you don’t always realize it.

An echo chamber normally happens when you are hearing the same information over and over again whether it is from people you know or over the internet. This information normally coincides with what you believe and supports your argument. The danger of this is when all you hear is an opinion that you agree with. This can falsely twist someone's viewpoint in showing them only what they want to see. By doing this, they don’t get to really have ideas for their own for there is nothing for them to argue against, hear contrary beliefs, or even just learn about an opposing view. 

The thing about echo chambers that is so dangerous is that you don’t always know when you are in one. They can happen anywhere at any time. It is, however, more commonly seen online. It is easier to find information and people that share the same beliefs and thoughts as you making things not as accurate as they seem. There are many more echo chambers online because of this and it is a lot easier to fall into one unknowingly.

If you are worried about being in an echo chamber, it is not the hardest thing to figure out. You need to overlook the information and figure out if there are opposing views or if it is all the same information, or if there is only one point of view. You also need to make sure that all of the information is actually true and researched, not rumor based. This is normally what echo chambers might include. It is so easy to check several sources of news, information, or other areas to find different viewpoints or perspectives. This will not only help you to strengthen your own beliefs but make it easier to defend your viewpoint because you are well rounded with the information you know. This is not always the easiest because not everything you want will always be right, but it will help you better understand your surroundings and the whole world around you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se20RoB331w

https://theconversation.com/the-problem-of-living-inside-echo-chambers-110486

https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/digital-media-literacy/what-is-an-echo-chamber/1/

What Privacy?

The definition of privacy is: "the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people” (https://www.google.com/search?q=privacy+definition&oq=privac&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l6j69i60.2592j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). It seems fairly simple, you get to live your life without anyone being in your business. You might think you get this through all of your online accounts or just day to day living. However, it is not possible to live a completely private life in today’s world. From street cameras to online account to other people’s phones, your life will never be completely private. 

It never quite occurred to me how much information could be collected on me by just driving my car somewhere. If it is not tracked by my GPS, then someone could have gotten me on their phone, or street camera or even a camera on a cop's car. I can be tracked going to the grocery store and not even know it. This might not seem like a huge deal until you are tracked everywhere you go and the government starts making a profile of where you go and what you are doing even if you didn’t do anything wrong. 

Facial recognition is one of the biggest things that makes me uneasy. When I was working on some photographs one day in iPhoto I noticed a section called faces. I hadn’t paid much attention to it until I saw a closeup image of my face. I clicked on it out of curiosity and started to play around with it. I added in a couple names to some faces then it scanned ALL of my photos within a matter of seconds and matched up all the faces to the names that I had just put in. I was utterly stunned. While I was very impressed (even though it was not 100% accurate), I was also nervous. What else could it do if my computer can not only just show me a picture but who is in it and where it was taken. Cool…but scary.

Privacy was not much I had thought about until I got Instagram. I make an effort to make sure all my accounts are private and I know who follows me. This way I feel safer about what I post and who sees it. It’s my life I should be able to control it, right? Wrong. While a lot of social media accounts promise privacy from other people, they collect information about you in order to know what you like and don't like. With this data, they collect and use it to use for advertising and other things. The idea that my computer or phone might know more about me than I do myself does not make me feel totally comfortable.  While I did not touch on every aspect of our security and lifestyles, who’s to say what they are listening to, not only through our phone calls but simply from our pockets as well.

Privacy in a Public World

In today’s society, being socially active is not uncommon. Most people I know all have at least one platform of social media from Facebook to Instagram to twitter and the list goes on. Even something as simple as having a website is showing your presence online. While I do not normally consider myself to have much of an online footprint, I can definitely say it is bigger than some. 

As for websites, I created one a couple years ago for business use. My initial goal was to be able to sell some of my artwork off of it. I created it for professional use giving out my name and email. I chose not to include my phone number because I felt like that would be too personal. In the end, I never really used the website but I also never took it down. 

I also use a few other social media sites for entertainment but also communication. I personally have Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat,. Instagram and Snapchat are definitely the top two sites I use. I use Instagram to mainly share artsy pictures I take and the accomplishments or videos I have made. This is probably my most personal account. If someone were to look at it, they could get a general idea of what my life is like. They would see what I like to do, where I have traveled, some of my friends and pets, and what I look like. While they might have all these pictures, I only have my shared my first name. I do not put my number or email on any of my sites or my last name. As for Facebook, I only created an account for school purposes and used my nickname to not give out too much information. 

Personal information to me is anything other than my first name, and sometimes even that. I have a backup email that I use for snap mail and things such as social media accounts. Normally you cannot create an account without an email or number. This is when I use my backup email. While I might give out this email for certain sites or social media, I would never give them my password for it. When entering the world of social media, it is hard to control what is posted or seen about you by other people and knowing who can use your information. It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to what you post because even if it is deleted, it is never truly gone.

I believe that social media definitely has its perks and downsides. While it is a great way to show what you have accomplished or show-off where you have traveled, etc., it can also bring others down. I have seen the different ways social media has effected so many people I know. Some positively and a lot negatively. People mostly only post good things in life showing only that side. This can make people jealous or want that “perfect” life that people advertise through their accounts. They want everything they see and don’t have and then can’t appreciate what they do have. It has almost become a competition for who can have the coolest life shown through their social media. While this is not everyone’s story or idea on social media, everyone is effected by it in different ways and it might not always be positive.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/04/facebook-asked-some-users-for-their-email-passwords-because-why-not/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/millions-of-facebook-records-found-on-amazon-cloud-servers?srnd=premium

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/facebook-users-still-dont-know-how-facebook-works/580546/

https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing

Diffusion of Innovations and Snapchat

The Diffusion of Innovation is a theory of how communication spreads. A small number of people adapt to new inventions of communication and these early adopters are one of the elements that can make or break these new platforms. With more users, there will be more chance of success. One of the more recent and successful innovations for online communications is Snapchat.

Snapchat has spread rapidly throughout the world within the first few years of its debut. With a bit of a slow start, the early adopters were the ones who really made it take off. While Snapchat is a source of communication, you need other users to talk to. This is another way in how Snapchat thought ahead. With the need for other users, these early adopters would send invitations to their friends to join. They all talk amongst themselves making the number of users increase dramatically. As more and more users join, the early majority of users hit the tipping point. The tipping point is when the majority of the users have already joined and the only people left to joiner the late adopters and the laggards. For Snapchat, these people tend to be kids who have turned the age where they can get the app for themselves and start using it (or parents who have been introduced to it by their kids-the early adopters).

The downsides of this technology, Snapchat, can vary from person to person. The most common downside of Snapchat is normally time consumption. People will spend more time than needed on this app and they will keep going back to it because there is always stuff to do on it. You are drawn in by not only talking to your friends but also watching what they are doing with their lives through their stories. While this helps to keep the app alive and very popular it has changed the way people have chosen to communicate with other people and maybe even distracted them from the world around them. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/snapchat-statistics

https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/