Professor Cacoilo
Act of Resistance
29 January 2020
I have come to realize that my role in media consumption is
somewhat of a contradiction. During the times I was burdened with depression
and debilitating anxiety I would use social media as a distraction. Staring mindlessly
at that 4.7 inch screen, swiping through pictures of people’s lunches and
adorable babies in their monthly onesies. These social networks have a way of
either muting the ugliness that’s happening out in the world, or bringing it to
light and intensifying with every click. The contradiction for me is that now that I have
gotten a handle on my anxiety, it is the exact same things on social media that
once took my anxiety away that now creates it. I can complain about social
network, but I also understand all its merit and worth, and ultimately has
endless possibilities- both good and bad. It is this all powerful thing that I
wish could be handled a little more responsibly by the masses.
Mass media is the world’s largest game of “telephone”. An old school
game where you whisper words into the ear of the person next to you, and so on; eventually the original message is jumbled and often a completely different message is spawned.
Players filling in the blanks of the parts they may have not heard or
understood, and mixing in with what they think is real, or maybe even contrived (consciously or subconsciously). The fact that we share so much of this common experience comes
with great power, and with that there is great responsibility.
This media era seems to be paradoxical, and anyone can have a
platform to speak out and become heard. Unfortunately some will do anything to make their
platform as large as possible. It is like being in a room full of people who are
all trying to be heard, but everyone is talking at the same time. Inevitably,
people are going to start screaming and whoever screams the loudest and longest
will be heard. In social media “screaming” translates to doing something as shock
worthy as possible.
The current ways of delivering news and ideas to the world
differs significantly from the ways people relied on in the past. When we read from
newspapers, or turn on the “five o’clock news,” we are agreeing to listen to half
of the story. Knowing we do not have control over what part of the story is
censored, which stories are being reported, and what stories are being left out. It is imperative that we do not
trust everything we hear, or are being told. This can be easier said then done when we are bombarded with all these various forms of media. This is enough to make people suffering from informational sensory overload. Freedom of speech is part
of what makes up the fabric of our country. We don’t have to just take our
information with a grain of salt, we can do a little more digging for ourselves
and form our own knowledge and opinions. Activists can come in and help, or
possibly hurt, where there is an emphasis on the word creditable with the
phrase “creditable source.” The internet
and social media has taken the First Amendment and put it on steroids. This is
why media activists, a person who campaigns for social change, are a very critical
part of this time period. These people focus on something they feel strongly
about and try to arm themselves with as much authentic information as possible.
They can help to organize some of the chaos and abundance of conflicting data. Activists
are some of the people with passion who take the beliefs we embody; but may not
speak out loud about, and then they bring it to the forefront. Stripping away
the censorship of new stories and find the stories that are being kept from the
ordinary person.
Luckily, there are many amazing people in the world that work to try and make the world a better place. They are actively using these various forums to spread
some of the greatest things in life; love, awareness, equality, and knowledge.
Media activism has some insanely powerful methodology, including, the creation of audio and video
investigations, spreading news and information about protests, the organizing
of campaigns that relate to communication policies, and educating the general
public.
In conclusion, I would like to end on a positive note and reflect on Hashtag activism. This is a term that was coined 12 years ago by media outlets, and it
is referring to the use of Twitter’s hashtags for Internet Activism. This
movement uses likes, shares, etc. to show support for a cause on any social
media outlet. Looking back this activism has had tremendous success. Some
examples; #WomensMarch; #BlackLivesMatter; #IceBucketChallenge, have had a
large impact on the world. It is these sort of things that can make us realize
and remember that this growing type of media can be extraordinary. That there
are so many people in the world that are using all of social media’s potential
for the better
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