Initially, social media websites were launched for forming online social connections and enjoying casual interactions. However, with the gradual evolution and advancement of technology as well as the online behavior of users, social media has become one of the prime sources of information and circulation of the latest news among the masses. The increasing reliability of people on social media for staying updated about national and international events has been arousing mixed responses from journalists and intellectuals.
The switch from straightforward news delivery and presentation to the infusion of information and entertainment in the form of memes and reels is being seen as both revolution and deterioration by people with different perceptions and viewpoints. Let us also shed some light on the advantages and drawbacks of relying on social media for information and its circulation, and also analyze the reception and reaction of the news channels upon this uprising trend.
The Influence of Social Media Platforms on News Consumption
Social media is highly based on sensationalism and sentimentalism and that is exactly how it is treating information. It instantly associates any piece of information or news with the sentiments of the people, which makes it sensational enough to do rounds of the internet across multiple platforms, and eventually, the information becomes viral within a blink of an eye.
It is in the human tendency to accept and validate anything that is served to us with conviction. Therefore people readily consume what they start seeing repeatedly on several social media platforms, in the form of reels, posts, memes, and caricatures. It has affected people and their capacity to make radical judgments before accepting and agreeing to something.
Advantages and Drawbacks of Relying on Social Media for Information
The use of social media for news circulation can be beneficial as well as detrimental. It is highly useful when you want a piece of information to spread instantly like wildfire but at the same time, it jeopardizes the authenticity of the news and its source. It only makes something viral but mostly fails to provide any background information to justify its authenticity. Social media basically feeds on people’s emotions and passion regarding specific matters, but if used radically, it holds enormous reach and potential and can prove to be a medium of revolution.
How News Organizations are Adapting to this Transformation?
Regardless of the judgment of being good or bad, it is a stated fact that social media has made its own space in the information and mass communication sector. India news agencies are also adapting themselves to this transformational trend and are marking their presence on these platforms and trying to use it in a constructive way to make instant and widespread connectivity with their viewers.
Moreover, the information released by reputed media houses through their social media handles can be considered reliable as they come from an authentic and verified source. All in all, the power of media when combined with the might of social media can lead to an empowering social and informational transformation.