Social Media and the Participatory culture: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Part 2)
This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.
These blog posts will be divided into 3 separate parts. The Good, the Bad and The Ugly of the participatory culture on social media. This is part 2.
The Bad
As said in the last blog post, the participatory culture of Social Media can be used for good. Communities are built, friendships are made and people can be in touch from miles away. Learning new things is also a click away. However, as the saying goes, cliche’ as it may sound, with the good comes the bad.
Nowadays, it is customary that people post news on social media. There is nothing wrong with posting an article as such, even if the article is not backed up by research. Everyone has the right to post and freedom of speech. However, in my opinion, these articles do more harm than good, when obviously are either fake news or simply a fabricated story. I do not want to generalize but sadly some older people, even some of the younger generation (but I do not expect it from this particular age group as they have the means to research) believe everything they see on social media. If it is posted on Facebook, then it must be true. Most of the time, these types of news reports are not even backed up by proper research. We have seen a lot of anti-vaxxers and anti-Covid-19 believers posting their beliefs during this pandemic time. It may be OK for people who do their research and understand that just because someone wrote an article on some shady medical site, does not mean that it is true. However, unfortunately, gullible people exist and these types of news on social media is leading them to believe something false. However, the things that irks me the most, is that these said people come to argue, probably on their same post, with this false news report and they expect you to convert somehow and believe their beliefs. If you do not, you are subject to ridicule, insults and maybe even your name being used creatively in a sentence were god’s name and his mother are said in vain.
Another thing that I consider bad is the selling of fake products on social media. At least, for me, a person who trains hard for their body and have a basic idea of nutrition, they are fake. You know which product I am talking about?? That coffee or hot chocolate that if you drink it everyday, it keeps the fat away. I can’t believe how people fall for these types of scams and encourage other people to buy as well.
Another bad side of social media and the participatory culture is the heavy use of social media. This part is divided in 2. I believe that there is a bad side to this and an ugly side, but that is for the next blog post.
I, for one, spend hours scrolling through social media platforms as I have said before, trying to find something interesting I could read or participate in. After plenty of likes, hearts and comments, I can honestly say that I would feel exhausted having looked at the same screen screen for hours on end, having accomplished nothing during the day. Sometimes, I also feel empty. This is something I am not proud of and I am sure there are people like me out there. Even Social Media Influencers sometimes also post that they need a break from social media and all the posting. Not that by any means I am comparing myself to Influencers, not at all, but considering that it is kind of their job to post and promote products and themselves on social media, you can see how everyone needs a break from the screen.
Why do we feel the need to connect virtually? Why do we feel the need to digitally speak through comments and likes? Are we basing our validity of ourselves on the basis of the subjectivity of a random stranger on the internet, or how many friends (real or not) are liking and following are pages and content. Is it that bad that we spend half of our lives scrolling and hearting? As I already said, I use Instagram mainly for my art account. Sometimes I judge my artwork based on my likes on that post. I even got to the point where I did not want to post my art anymore or even doubt myself if its good enough for Instagram. I dwell for like an hour on a post, trying to match it to my previous posts, trying to think of a good one liner to post with it and even trying to use good hashtags to make sure it is seen by the right people.
Until next time, that’s all folks!
References
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election. Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211
O’Reilly, M., Dogra, N., Whiteman, N., Hughes, J., Eruyar, S., & Reilly, P. (2018). Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology And Psychiatry, 23(4), 601–613. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518775154
