Entry #9: Influence in the media

The media is a very powerful place. It is where we get most of our information from. I have been noticing recently with the coronavirus going around that there is so much fake news spreading around. On social media, people will comment "facts" about something and people will believe it without it even being true. When you come across a statement or piece of information on the internet, it is very important to research and fact check. People are easily influenced by the media. In regards to whats trending, political opinions, etc. If people are unable to form opinions on their own they will look to the internet and piggyback off of a different opinion. Be sure to get your news from sites with sources and statistics.

Social media is a form of media that is extremely powerful nowadays. 49% of the worlds population, or 3.81 billion users, are on social media. This proves everyone uses social media. A lot of trends and such are formed from social media apps. People try to look and act a certain way due to what is popular on social media at the time. This is dangerous because it is usually unrealistic and changes every so often when the beauty standards change, so people are always feeling the need to change themselves due to social media. Social media can be used for positive change. It can be used to spread a good message, a humorous video, factual information, and more. There are just a lot of negative influences the media has to that people need to be aware about.

I have been a lot more critical when it comes to being on the media. I know that people will use the media to spread false messages. I make sure to research everything I want to know more about so I can form my own opinion based off what I know is true. I notice that a lot of my peers have been posting pictures similar to those of famous social media celebrities.