Can Anyone be a Journalist in the Age of Social Media?
When the world “shut down” a little over a year ago, people turned to social media to connect with one another. Due to the heightened interaction among individuals, many turned to starting discussions on current events in person onto their social media accounts. Social movements like Black Lives Matter, #FreeBrittney, election news and more were all topics of discussion in which social media users decided to become “citizen journalists”. Tools are available to the public who may share random acts of journalism through posting information, different points of view, and creating original content when it comes to producing, sharing, and locating sources on current events.
Politics are a topic of discussion online or offline. Recently there has been much growth when it comes to individuals sharing information on Twitter and Facebook specifically within their own communities. These platforms allow for you to curate the information you will see in your feed and on your trending page. The information will be skewed based on what the platform’s algorithm deems you will want to see and interact with. This results in an echo chamber of people with similar viewpoints, sharing their own takes on certain issues.
Others may use social media to share less political stories. Anthony Padilla uses his YouTube channel creating videos where he sits down with individuals from different groups to learn about their experiences and help grant these groups of people a platform to share their voices. Around this time last year, this video was released and allowed for people to learn about the importance of protecting themselves and preventing the spread of COVID-19 to high risk individuals. This is an educational act of information sharing when it comes to creating original content and it is portrayed in a journalistic way.
Some fulfill the role of being a citizen journalist by sharing stories of other people. For this past Trans Day of Visibility, Twitter user @nowimcarol tweeted a tribute thread paying tribute to Leelah Alcorn, sharing further sources, and showing other transgender individuals that they are not alone.
The account OldDirtyBoston started to share stories of Boston-based small businesses, specifically restaurants, during the COVID pandemic. Each video shares a brief history of each location and recommendations.
Sometimes people use social media to discuss current events on their own and produce podcasts, which mimic that of a radio show.
Social Media allows people to be social in ways beyond basic interaction. Platforms allow for a variety of information to be shared in different formats. Some people create content which may be described as bordering or mimicking journalism. These stories mimic journalistic stories but should not replace them.
