When using social media, it is important to understand what is fact and what is not. So, how do I know what I know? I make sure corroborate the information I read by going to legitimate websites to find out if the information is believable. Let's say I want to look up something about historical artifact. Most would go to Wikipedia. It is a quick website to go to find information. It is important to know that anyone can alter Wikipedia. If this is the case, if I am looking for historical information that is accurate, I would go to a website associated with credible, accurate and reliable information. I might go to the Smithsonian website instead. Why? Because this organization has a record of credible, accurate and reliable information. According to Kovach and Rosenstiel (2010) , I need to make sure that, as I use social media websites, I should filter the information to make sure I develop a balanced view.
One social website that I visit regularly is Linedkin. Today as I visit Linedkin, I learned that this professional website is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. I know this it is true because I found the company on the New York Stock Exchange - a reputable website (Stock LNKD -Stock price: LNKD (NYSE) $168.40).
I believe that we all are responsible for discerning what is credible on social media websites and what is not. We need to teach our children how to be discerning. If not, we are destined to be a gullible, ignorant society.
Carole
You are exactly right! In today's society, children are growing up with the internet (Bilton, Nick 2010 NPR podcast). If we don't teach the younger generations what it's like to do actual research on topics, they will forever rely on websites like Wikipedia. They need to learn how to go "old-school" and use an encyclopedia. They can do this online so that they are at least in familiar territory. We need know which web sites have solid reputations and which ones are questionable. I believe our professional, as well as, personal connections can help with this. I am more likely to go to a site that my mother suggests versus a site mentioned by a stranger on Facebook. It's all about credibility and knowledge of a subject.
ReplyDeleteIn fields like journalism, being gullible is not an option. Being trusting is not an option. Reporters need to question everything if they want to guarantee their story is legit and won't cause a mess of questions. Will this take more time? Yes...but spending the time to do the work will far out-weigh a bad reputation.
I agree and I think that until consumers start acting like fact checkers when they consume information over the internet there will never really be a boundary of ethical behavior for this medium of the media.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Desiree and Kami. Educated consumers question what they read - they do not accept everything the read at face value. I was always taught to "consider the source." My young adult children are constantly saying, "did you hear about what happened or did you hear what so and so said"? I'll ask, "where did you get that information from." And if the source is not reputable, I'll say, "ignore it until you find out more information about it from a reputable source." Always, consider the source.
DeleteCarole, I agree with you that we do not need to rely on websites such as Wikipedia to get reliable information and children need to be taught to do actual research at a library or an online library. People should also be taught that they need to filter their research for scholarly sources. I am looking forward to seeing more work from you!
ReplyDeleteDia Boyer
It is so important for parents to begin the teaching process with their children to fact check and question where information comes from. Children should know how to ask questions and not be afraid to ask questions and hold others accountable. If we as parents can instill this in our children maybe their will be hope for the next generation and as you said Carole, society won't be so gullible.
ReplyDeleteHi Carole,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, because there are so many ways to find information people just take the easy way out instead of checking their sources. I have also learned in the past that anyone can change the information that is on Wikipedia, stating it as fact. Most people really rely on this site for all of their educational needs and do not check any of the information. I am hoping that just because information is easy to come by, it does not make it so no one is willing to work for the unknown.
Erin