Media s Impact On The American Society - amazonia.fiocruz.br

Theme simply: Media s Impact On The American Society

Does social media amplify or muzzle the voices of the social justice movement? Two Lafayette scholars weigh in.

Introduction by Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis. Martin Luther King Jr. The podium at which Martin Luther King Jr. The immediacy with which social media allows us to connect with a diverse audience of millions around the world can increase visibility and awareness of critical issues, uplift oppressed voices, and potentially trigger widespread Ametican.

Post navigation

On the other side of the coin, when misused, social media can quickly become a vast breeding ground of disinformation and harassment that can threaten not only the livelihoods of the innocent, but also their lives, which can propel earnest efforts backward rather than forward. And with 12 new users joining the social media crowd every second, that number is growing rapidly.

Additionally, users across the globe spend an average of two hours and 20 minutes on social media daily—which, when combined, add up to more than 1 million years Media s Impact On The American Society day. Knowing that social media has become such a tightly read more thread in the tapestry of modern human life, we asked two Lafayette professors— Annie de Saussureassistant professor of French, and Tim Laquintanoassociate professor of English and director of the College Writing Program—to engage in a scholarly discussion: Does social media help or hurt the social justice movement?

By Annie de Saussure When considering the utility and power of social media in political and social movements, it is important Sociey state the obvious: Social media Ajerican revolutionized how people communicate with each other. This has allowed grass-roots movements to spring up in areas of the world where freedom of press and freedom of speech are not protected human rights. The Arab Spring is a compelling example.

Revolutions across the Arabic-speaking world began after a year-old Tunisian fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, committed suicide by setting himself on fire in protest of then-President Ben Ali and his government. Social media, particularly Facebook, was unquestionably instrumental in spreading news of his death, leading to protests and social movements of historic proportions—not to mention regime changes in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

Currently, in France, as in the U. Her Instagram page has nearly half a million followers, and her movement brought together tens of thousands of protestors across France this summer. In my current research, I study how French community radio stations in the s and s worked together to overturn a decades-long state monopoly on broadcast communication. Radio, in many ways, was the social media of the pre-internet era.

During this time, politicians on the right and left were concerned that too many stations on the FM dial would lead to information anarchy. How can truth be heard amidst a cacophony of voices? This dilemma is not new, though its dimensions today are far more vast. The question should not be whether social media is good or bad. Our focus should Media s Impact On The American Society on how our democratic institutions must establish and enforce ground rules. As philosopher Nadia Yala Kisudiki has stated, if you are a minority in France, you have to first affirm that you exist in order to be heard.

Essay on media and its impact

Social media is a tool to that end. It amplifies voices of marginalized communities, traditionally excluded from the often-impenetrable Impsct that have long acted as gatekeepers to cultural production, political discourse, and social change. We can talk about any characteristic of the internet with both a happy face and a sad face. This is a common joke among researchers. In my first book, I researched this idea and witnessed some happy things.

I interviewed people like war veterans who self-published their memoirs using the internet.]