by Christopher Clark
This essay will be addressing the question,
‘What do you think is the most significant transformation to society in the
21st century? Why?’ I believe that the rise of social media is the most
significant transformation. This can be shown in the ways that is has affected
communication, the news and extremism. Social media differentiates the 21st
century from previous centuries in the way that it has altered the way that
many throughout society act and behave.
Firstly, social media has transformed the way
that communication happens in this century. The instant speed that messages can
now travel has altered various aspects of society, for example it has had a
great effect in the most recent Hong Kong protests. The ability to communicate
the companies that have not backed the protest movements and identity them as
targets to destroy led to the voting for the council elections in Hong Kong.
The protest groups were mobilised to
protest and thus a large number of pro-democracy
candidates were able to be voted into power. Previously, this would not have
able to have been so well coordinated without the assistance of a rapid way of
communicating. Following on from this, distance across the world means much
less now than it has in the past. It is easily possible to speak and
communicate with people on other sides of the world and this has had a myriad
of benefits. It can help academics share ideas with each other as to how they
can further research. Furthermore, families can speak with each other if they
are separated, which has changed the structure of family as we are still able
to communicate despite distance separating us.
As well as this, communication on social media
has opened up another area of bullying online. The problem of cyber-bullying
has created a large amount of issues. It has led to the rise of the ‘cancel
culture’ that has plagued celebrities recently with the intense criticism for
often small offences, that can end up being incorrect, such as the story with
Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun. However, by this point, many have already had
careers ruined. As well as this, cyber-bullying has a massive effect at
schools, with it often being a huge issue for students. Overall, communication
through social media has changed society, some of it can be positive, but the
issue with rapid bullying is one of the more negative aspects that social media
has brought.
The way that the news is disseminated through
social media has also had a transformative effect on society. Firstly, again in
the same way as other communication, news is spread instantly throughout the
world. Whilst this does have immediate advantages, such as help arranged during
the Californian wildfires, or having to warn people of terrorist attacks, there
are also disadvantages to this quick spread as well. Disinformation can also be
easily circulated, and people may be spreading things that are not true: ‘fake
news’. This is something that social media has greatly contributed to, which is
shown in the recent move by the Conservative Party who switched their Twitter
handle to that of ‘factcheckUK’. As well as this, Donald Trump continues to run
a successful misinformation campaign through his Twitter page. This has the
ability to make many believe that what he is saying is true and thus is
misleading the trust that has been bestowed. This is something new in the 21st
century; although there has been disinformation in the past, the scale of what
is happening is unparalleled and so is its effect on society. People are
sharing what is instantly in front of them, not checking to see if it is true
or not. This is not moderated by many of the social media companies and people
attempting to fact check cannot do it at the speed at which the disinformation
is being released to the world. Overall, the way that the news is spread
through social media is a huge societal change, firstly now that we can give
immediate warnings, but also more negatively about what news now is, which is
that of something that does not necessarily represent or tell the truth.
Finally, social media has changed the way that extremism
has been spread around the world. Firstly, the rise of the Islamic State was
greatly assisted by its ability to recruit on social media. They used a variety
of social media sites to manipulate many young people into joining their fight,
whether that be fighting on the front lines, carrying out attacks or becoming
wives for the members. This rapid recruitment was something that was enabled by
social media, and different to other time periods. As well as this, it enabled
them to claim attacks as soon as they had happened, this could instantly spread
fear throughout people. As well as this, social media has enabled more
far-right elements to also grow from a more grassroots level. For example, the
attack on the mosque in New Zealand seemed to have been born out of the
chatrooms 4chan and 8chan as well as other far-right groups. This has also
enabled other attacks such as an incel inspired attack on a yoga studio in the
US. These attacks and groups that have helped inspired them were born out of
the legitimacy that they were given by other people on social media. Overall,
more extremist views have grown out of the freedom social media has given them.
In conclusion, social media has had a
transformative effect on society in this century: the way that it has altered
how we communicate with the world around us, how news is spread and the way
that extremism has grown on both the far-right and also in terms of Islamic
extremism. Not all of this has been a positive transformation - but is has
still transformed society.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments with names are more likely to be published.