The game has really changed when we talk of information dissemination, news gathering and public opinion.
Whereas decades past, we solely relied on what was known as the tri-media of television, radio and print for our daily news, gossip, entertainment and points of view, now we have social media, which has been trumping the trifecta.
Socmed has become the great equalizer, given its instantaneous availability in broadcast or publication. And almost every netizen has the ability, and the possibility, to become a news reporter or hound, with instant coverage of newsworthy events happening at the moment, with just smartphone on hand.
Likewise, netizens have become more consciously discerning and more engaged in their chosen endeavor or interest, and their voices are now louder than ever. It’s like everyone is now a borderline columnist, giving their own personal take of topics and issues, and helping it trend or become “viral,” in tech speak.
But there are also a lot of pitfalls, primarily in the utilization of social media as propaganda and as a very effective tool of deception.
The rapid burst of socmed in our consciousness, and how evolved the ecosystem is within, remains its strong suit but is also its weakness. Yes, we can immediately see newsworthy events as it develops, but at the same time, we can be deceived and will have difficulty telling fact from fiction.
It is why it is important to determine the reliable platforms and avenues of social media, so that navigating it will not be the sensory equivalent of losing ourselves in a complex maze, and we cannot get out.
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms have been constantly altering their algorithms, and have been introducing changes in their services and applications in order to keep abreast of how we utilize socmed for our fulfillment.
Here in our country, we have seen and realized the tremendous power of socmed in electing our national leaders, given how digitally active, savvy and connected we are.
Seems to me that we are now living in a techno-cracy, where we rule, and are ruled, via our post and tweet.
Every sector in our society, be it the government or the private ones, has already embraced the rule of the netizens, and this is where it really gets tricky. There needs to be order in this multiverse, of course, perhaps in the form of socmed avenues, like this new group called Authority Asia of Philippine socmed pioneer Mr. Bran Reluao.
Avenues like AA can truly help us in navigating the vast and deep waters of socmed, its traps and travails, and at the same time keep our sanity.
How? By giving us the real score in the most important aspects of our lives, as well as guiding us through the dark and dangerous terrain of politics and business, and all else that matters.
Again, it’s a whole new world in our technocracy.
Embrace it we must, but let’s also be wary and alert.
Mark my word.