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Five years ago I started blogging fueled by one goal which is to understand how the digital age is reshaping lives. The biggest change I have come to observe and experience firsthand is how social media has become the news front page of the world. Let’s skyrocket into how platforms like X ( formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram have changed the way we discover, share, and trust news.
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1. The 24- SECOND NEWS CYCLEÂ
Far gone are the days we had to wait for the 9pm news or the morning newspaper. Nowadays news breaks instantly on social media, mostly by ordinary citizens before journalists catch up. While this real-time flow of information is empowering it creates a culture where we skim, scroll and share before verifying the information. Most of the time speed beats accuracy.
2. RISE OF CITIZEN JOURNALISTS
Social has turned everyone with a smartphone into a potential reporter. From real time disaster updates to live streamed ( tiktok/ instagram/ X/ facebook) protests , citizen journalism is democratizing information. Most of the time while it brings exclusive stories to light, it paves way to misinformation and distorted narratives. This is both problematic and powerful especially when there is no editorial oversight.
3. ALGORITHMS DECIDE WHAT YOU SEE
I have come to notice how my feed is full of news that align with my beliefs. I don’t know whether I am the only one ? That’s no accident. Social platforms are driven by engagement based algorithms, which means the more you interact with a certain type of content the more you see it. This creates a digital echo chamber where we are fed with what we agree rather than also what challenges our perspective.
4. THE TRUST GAP
The biggest challenge with this social media age is who do we trust. People are slowly becoming skeptical of mainstream outlets, yet most of the time place unverified trust in influencers or uncrediantiled sources.
Both creators and consumers need to rebuild trust through transparency, accountability and media transparency.
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5. MEME CULTURE AND MOCKING SPINÂ
Nowadays news has also taken a leaf, memes/ GIFs and satire. Global news is now shared via comedy clips or ironic Tik Toks, most of the time making it hard to differentiate between facts and opinions.
FINAL THOUGHTSÂ
Social media has greatly and forever changed how we consume news , it’s a powerful tool, but like all tools its impact depends on how we use it.
