{"id":944,"date":"2020-10-29T10:51:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T14:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/csh\/?p=944"},"modified":"2022-09-03T17:08:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T21:08:16","slug":"social-media-is-the-wild-wild-west-we-need-to-be-savvy-consumers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/csh\/2020\/10\/29\/social-media-is-the-wild-wild-west-we-need-to-be-savvy-consumers\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media is the Wild Wild West: We Need to be Savvy Consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Facebook’s Roots to Grassroots<\/h3>\n

Facebook first reached Ball State in the early 2000s when its allure was exclusivity. Signing up required the .edu\u00a0<\/em>email address tag of higher ed., and college students eagerly joined to keep in touch with graduating and scattering friend networks.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Brandon Waite – Political Science<\/p><\/div>\n

Around the same time, prior to becoming an associate political science professor at Ball State, Brandon Waite<\/a> recalls how his doctoral dissertation proposal on the correlation between Facebook usage and civic engagement was met with skepticism. His advisors worried Facebook might be short-lived like its social network predecessor MySpace, nullifying his research before he could finish his degree. Waite decided to take the gamble, and his career has followed the upward trajectory of the platform.<\/p>\n

Waite has since become an expert on social media in higher education and published two notable books on his research with Ball State colleague Darren Wheeler<\/a>—Social Media for Student Affairs in #HigherEducation: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities and Understanding<\/em> and Using Social Media on College Campuses: A Practical Guide for Higher Education Professionals<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While Dr. Waite\u2019s research focuses on the productive uses for social media in higher education, he also sees several trends in the scope of social media\u2019s political influence. \u201cWe used to rely on Facebook to keep in contact with friends who had moved away, share pictures of our kids and such, but it\u2019s shifted to encompass so much more than that.\u201d He notes how President Obama\u2019s campaign in 2006 was the first to optimize social media by soliciting micro-donations through email and Facebook.<\/p>\n

Since then, politicians and grassroots groups have recognized the great potential of reaching vast portions of the population directly through social media. \u201cFacebook is free, user friendly, and popular, so it\u2019s a fantastic tool to encourage political engagement, especially at the local level,\u201d says Waite. Social media has helped raise political awareness, organize people for causes, and encouraged membership in special interest groups.<\/p>\n

Facebook is the Wild Wild West<\/h3>\n

The problem, he says, has been that \u201cthe post-bureaucratic nature of Facebook, which is one of its benefits, has also become its weakness.\u201d The 2016 election revealed the failure of social media platforms to moderate content and enact clear policies that curb the spread of misinformation. Due to this lack of oversight, gatekeepers have been less able to perform as such and content has been hijacked by disinformation. Assistant Professor Chad Kinsella<\/a>, who teaches political science courses in campaigns and various levels of government, says, \u201cFacebook is the Wild Wild West of political information.\u201d Our current election cycle, for example, has included false claims about how to vote, voter requirements, and when and where to vote.<\/p>\n

\"\"Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma <\/em>highlights how algorithms circulate information on social media based upon popularity, not accuracy. According to the documentary, lies spread six times faster than the truth. False claims are particularly disconcerting as Facebook and other social media has become the primary purveyor of political information, national news, and social consciousness for many users.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kinsella and Dr. Waite both note the importance of recognizing social media outlets as echo chambers where users only hear their own opinions reiterated. People make the mistake of believing everyone on social media has access to the same information, but they don\u2019t realize that their content is curated to their interests. \u201cFacebook exacerbates homophily,\u201d notes Waite, \u201cwhich is causing us to becoming increasingly polarized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savvy Media Omnivores<\/h3>\n
\"\"

Chad Kinsella – Political Science<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe need to talk to each other,\u201d says Kinsella. \u201cWe\u2019re losing the ability to engage with other people who aren\u2019t like us. Losing the ability to listen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He notes the importance of remembering that special interest groups easily manipulate social media content by creating sound bytes and decontextualized clips. The pandemic has further stymied productive political conversations, as we are all more isolated than ever. \u201cThe gold standard of political campaigns has long been canvasing, which allows door-to-door, face-to-face connection,\u201d Kinsella says, \u201cbut that isn\u2019t happening this year.\u201d This further underscores the necessity of reliable political information.<\/p>\n

In regards to the upcoming election, Brandon Waite says,<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really need to focus on the sources. We should rely on legacy outlets [newspapers, magazines, local and national news outlets] that cite trustworthy sources. Sure, they may be biased one way or another, but what we really need to be is media omnivores\u2014we should consume information from several different sources.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He also recommends referring to fact-checking sites like Snopes<\/a> when reading social media content.<\/p>\n

Whack-a-Mole Regulation<\/h3>\n

Both professors agree that the 2016 and current 2020 election cycles have raised interesting questions about social media regulation. Should there be more governmental guidelines for social media content or would that impede First Amendment rights? Recently, Facebook agreed to more self-regulation. They will now take down false information deemed voter interference and remove accounts associated with radical conspiracy groups. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like Whack-a-Mole,\u201d remarks Waite, \u201conce they get rid of one deceptive post or account, another pops up.\u201d However, he\u2019s hopeful that some platforms are including content warnings for posts that may contain misinformation.<\/p>\n

As we become more informed social media consumers, it behooves us to recognize the benefits of social media as well as the shortfalls. Social media \u00a0monopolizes our attention by design, without regard for the quality of its content.\u00a0Carefully consume your political information from multiple, verifiable sources. Even better, seek out a congenial conversation about policies and candidates with a friend or family member with a different perspective.<\/p>\n

Then vote on or before November 3, 2020.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To learn more about Political Science at Ball State, click here<\/a>. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Read all other political science blogs here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Facebook’s Roots to Grassroots Facebook first reached Ball State in the early 2000s when its allure was exclusivity. Signing up required the .edu\u00a0email address tag of higher ed., and college students eagerly joined to keep in touch with graduating and scattering friend networks. Around the same time, prior to becoming an associate political science […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[231,2,4],"tags":[254,255,253,252,5,251],"class_list":["post-944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-csh-investigates","category-featured","category-political-science","tag-brandon-waite","tag-chad-kinsella","tag-election","tag-facebook","tag-political-science","tag-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\nSocial Media is the Wild Wild West: We Need to be Savvy Consumers -<\/title>\n<meta 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