Update after update, version after version, it seems the more we
are given the more we can say, "Social Media-- Cant live with it, most
definitely can't live without it."
We live in a society where going live on Facebook, utilizing the
latest hash tag on twitter, posting a TBT on Instagram, or adding only the
cutest dog filter on snap chat is more important than balancing out checkbooks.
Social Media has without a doubt become one of the most utilized outlets were
discourse takes place and I feel is one of the biggest public spheres of our
time. But, is this the most effective public sphere?
There is no simple answer to this question, and I do not feel that
is an obvious yes or an absolute no.
There are so many different positives as well as negatives that go
into discourse that become the public sphere that is social media.
When looking at the positives, social media keeps us informed. We
are informed in real time what is going on around us, and this allows us to
engage in discourse in the moment that it occurs. It allows us to start voicing
our opinions and having discourse with others around us. Another great thing
about discourse within social media is that we “make time for it.” In our
society, we can not seem to find time to brush our teeth in the morning, but
you better believe that we will update our status and tell our “friends” that
we don’t have the time to do it. We enjoy social media and we will always make
time to have discourse within it.
On the other hand, while this discourse is happening on social
media it may not be providing a very effect public discourse. While on social
media, we tend to hide behind our screens and it seems as though people feel
that their iPhone’s are big enough to block them from the world. It seems
everyone is entitled to their opinion, until their opinion is different from
yours. While being in the public sphere
of social media and having discourse people become nasty and they become mean.
They are not having respectful discourse and they are not acting as if they
would if they were in a public sphere such as a coffee shop, library, or
church. They are engaging in a different type of discourse that is not
effective but rather dehumanizing.
Social media is a public sphere that I feel can be effective is
used by the correct people in the correct form.
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