Misinformation in Media Today

Misinformation in Media Today

By: Conner Lewis

            Mass media today has had a significant effect on everything we do in our daily lives. Media today has the ability to connect us with those around the world, aid in the development of businesses, spread art and culture from different regions, and it allows everyone to have a voice (Walden University, 2019). On top of all of that, it is now all easily accessible and updated instantly via smart phones, tablets or computers. With all of this ease of access comes an increase in adolescents engaging in the media. It is important to consider the pros and cons with this new engagement in media when looking at adolescents.

            Unfortunately, not all media is beneficial. The downside with mass media and its ease of access is that it can supply large amounts of misinformation to the public with minimal effort (Walden University, 2019). Those in power have the ability to buy and control certain forms of media and have the potential to self-regulate what that form of media puts out (Walden University, 2019). This can create numerous problems and also has the potential to tie into the misinformation it can provide.

I personally am not a fan of a lot of the current social media or any of the new stations. I very rarely watch the news and I don’t have or use a lot of the currently popular forms of social media. A lot of this has to do with some of the negatives that I mentioned before but also for some other reasons. When it comes to the news today, a major reason why I do not watch it is because of the massive divide in our political climate in the US today. This divide has become very prevalent in any news source and it is something that has tainted my experience of watching the news no matter my political views. Part of this divide can lead to the misinformation I spoke about before. After watching a news story on one station and then flipping over to watch a different news station cover what you think is the same story, you would be surprised at how different the perspectives are on the same event.

When it comes to providing some tips to help adolescents engage in media in healthy ways, the best recommendations I could give are to be very careful of what you post on social media, and to not instantaneously believe what you read from news sources. Double checking information that is presented to you from any news source is also something that will make you an informed individual and will also allow you to get the most accurate information. Over all, it is a useful skill to evaluate and use common sense when it comes to any form of media which can result in healthy media engagement.

Reference

Walden University. (2019, May 16). The Pros And Cons Of Mass Media. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-communication/resource/the-pros-and-cons-of-mass-media.