Blog Three: Youth Involvement in Politics

By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism discusses the fact that today's youth are more engaged with the political process than one would initially believe.  It challenges the argument that millennials are not civically involved.  

With today's technology, it is easier than ever for young people to be a part of the process, no matter how indirect it may be.  For instance, young people may not write a handwritten letter of grievances to congress, but they quickly share something pertaining to such a grievance via social media, bringing more awareness to the topic than ever before.

The authors explain how many millennials are engaged online and volunteering for many social causes, but because of their low voter turnout, even such engagement is somewhat marginalized.  I understand how this could be cause for concern.  I may share something on Facebook or Instagram, but I understand that any actual change goes beyond this social media post.  The actual change begins at the voting booth, and millennials could account for such change by taking that extra step.  

On the other hand, this book explains how even though these young people may not vote in elections, they are still responsibly sharing content among other voters who may take into account what their younger friends have shared.  This is actually a big step of the democratic process, and social media is intensifying the importance of such posts.          

The young people discussed in the book vary in age, from high school to college.  This is an interesting dynamic.  In a sense, the authors wanted a true picture of youth activism, even among those who cannot vote yet.  This gave their writing another element necessary for understanding youth activism.  Their civic participation is driven by a desire to seek real change.  Their efforts have the potential to make such change among their older friends who may read their posts and keep them in mind while traveling to the polls.  Some would argue that this young of a demographic should not have been included in the authors' research, but I disagree.  High school is where we initially develop ourselves politically, and we want our voices heard, even if they can't yet be heard at the polls.   

While many people believe that sharing political content on social media is not the right avenue to seek real social change, they should remember than many of the social changes brought about in the last decade have started online.  They should think about movements such as #BlueLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter as just a few of the examples of how effective social media can be.  These platforms not only increase the discussion about desired social change, but they also give more people the opportunity to freely exercise their First Amendment rights - at any age.  

This book provides the information that proves that the millennial generation has the power to change U.S. public policies for generations.  This stunning fact should speak volumes to older folks who are quick to judge what impact millennials are having on the civic process. 

Blog Two: Social Media Use Among Teenagers

This week's reading, "It's Complicated," peered into the lives of young people who use social media.  Many of the topics resonated with me.  Although I am no longer a teenager, much of what was discussed was around when I was a teen as well.  I could most definitely relate to the students' excitement toward using social media and technology for projects in school; my classmates and I were encouraged to do the same.  I am the first to acknowledge, though, that social media among young users is now higher than ever.  This book looks at these teens' networks and attempts to explain to older folks the motivations behind their use of social media.  

Interviewing students as candidly as boyd did was the proper way of gaining the insight needed to learn as much as possible among these teens.  This gave teens the opportunity to be as forthcoming as possible, leaving out the mundane process of say filling in a survey.  What was also pretty incredible about boyd's research was that she also interviewed parents, teachers, librarians, etc., which broadened her understanding of their viewpoints concerning teenage social media use.  boyd's research indicated that even though parents often look at teens' social media use as a negative, the opposite is often true.  For instance, she explains how this negativity often prompts parents to believe that simpler lives (without social networking) would be ideal, but this is not the case.  She also explores the notion that media tends to blow out of proportion the small instances of the negative aspect of social networking (e.g. online bullying).  This is just not always the case, and it was fitting that she pointed it out.  Would the internet be more inclusive if presumptions were nixed? 

Adults should also understand what boyd says about the reason that social networking is positive after all.  She explains that kids, at one time, could meet in public places available to them, but that now the dynamics have changed.  She uses the mall as an example.  At one time, she says, the mall was a place that teens could go to "hang out," but that now it is a thing of the past.  Such "loitering" is not allowed.  Social networking sites offer the same kinds of benefits reaped from hanging out at the mall.  I had never really thought about the logic here, but I agree.  There are very few places for teens to go just to hang out and talk.  I am in my twenties and I sometimes find it hard to "find something to do" or somewhere to go, so I can imagine how difficult it would be for a teenager to do the same.  At least I can drive to either a bar or a casino if I want to meet up with friends.  I can see more clearly now why teens would desire to be interconnected with friends via social media.  In the past, teens could ride a bike to a grocery store or to a library or restaurant, but now that is not an option due to safety issues that did not exist during that time.  It is important to realize how secluded teens could potentially be without social networking.

This book was great for explaining the motivations of social media use among teenagers.  It quite literally looked into the minds of teens and explored their desire for connectedness among friends.  This book changed my mind about teenage use of social media.  The negativity initially determined from this use has been countered with boyd's research.  I would recommend anyone in the field of communication to study her findings and to read the book.  

Blog One: MC 7019 Thought Blog

This week's readings are extremely relevant for understanding contemporary public discourse.  Cultural elements are among the most important topics discussed, along with the ways in which social media has altered communication as a whole.  Social media, social networks and social networking sites have shifted the ways in which information is dispersed and discussed.

I agree with James Carey's article, "A Cultural Approach to Communication," on many levels.  Carey highlights the failed ways in which we continue to communicate.  He says that rituals take place of culture in the communication process, which harbors thoughts of power and control rather than the communal aspect he feels is important to the process.  All you have to do is turn on cable news or look at your Facebook newsfeed to see that this is the truth.  Every opinion is pretty much one-sided and/or biased for one argument over the other, which only offers the reader that particular side.  This makes it difficult for readers to decipher for themselves which parts of the argument are upheld by the unbiased truth.  This article resonated with me the most because of the "fake news" epidemic.  This "fake news" took place before, during and after the 2016 presidential election.  This flawed information further deteriorates social media as a tool of communication.  Carey's article can be found here.  

Questions After Reading:

• What can we do to replace ritualistic  communication with culture-based communication?
• Why do we rely so heavily on science rather than data which allows for a broader understanding of other people's cultures?

Danah Boyd and Nicole Ellison's article, "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship," explains how scholars are reviewing social networking sites now more than ever.  This was no surprise to me.  With millions of people currently engaged in dialogues via social media, it is necessary for researchers to take a closer look.  The influence of these social networking sites is astounding, and it is important to understand how to use it as an effective tool of communication.  I agree with them that it is important to study the engagement aspect of such sites. This helps with future research on the topic as well, offering a greater understanding of the ways in which friends (and strangers) meet and interact on these social networking sites.  This reading made me think about how many complete strangers with which I am connected on my networking sites and what motivates these connections.  Click here to read the entire article. 

Boyd continues the preceding thoughts in her article, "Social Media: A Phenomenon to be Analyzed."  She offered me a new way of thinking about such a large issue.  The fact that many people in the 1990's and the early 2000's only used the web as a way of checking emails and browsing forced me to realize how new the social media phenomenon really is.  Within the last decade, social media has gained momentum and influence and become the way in which many people communicate.  This is reason enough, in my opinion, to further research the social media users' motives and interactions.

Boyd's article, "Making Sense of Teen Life," was most relatable for me.  I completely agree that the age of technology has most affected people around my age.  We do not know what life is like without  having a smartphone nearby which offers us instant access to the internet. I never thought about it on the level of tracking a younger person's behaviors online and what a problem that may be; according to Boyd, younger people care about internet privacy and the trail they leave while engaged.  This makes it more difficult to examine.

All of the readings made me anxious to learn more about the motivations behind our social networking and our social media interactions.  I am looking forward to learning more about emerging media and how they will shift the dynamics of mass communication.