Summary Draft 3 + Reader's Response Draft 2

Summary Draft 3

Article: ‘When Worlds Collide’: Navigating the Minefield of Social Media (2014, June 9). (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/social-media-social-minefield/)

According to Rothbard in "When Worlds Collide: Navigating the Minefield of Social Media" (2014), social media has allowed users to share any information online readily and instantly. Yet, such ease can have negative impacts on a person's work life, as it overlaps with one's personal life. Just as the 'social mindfield' that one of Rothbard's interviewers (2014) points out, people have to be constantly wary about what they post online as their content may be distorted from it's original meaning by the audience. Whether it is intentionally or not, there would be undesirable effects. Therefore, social media presents a dilemma where people online can connect better or forge new relationships easily but it can also take a toll on the present ones they have.

Rothbard (2014) then introduces four different methods people generally used on social media; open being completely no censorship, audience being limiting content to specific audience, content being content that are oriented towards the majority of the audience and custom being striking a balance between the audience and content methods. Such methods can affect a person's reputation and appeal. Therefore, changing the methods  one already accustomed to would not be easy unless something major happens.

Finally, Rothbard (2014) concludes her research by presenting her results indicating that people should vary their methods of communicating to another person according to the situation, particularly on social media. This is due to the fact that it brings users online to a larger amount of viewers instead of one as much as they try to avoid it.

Reader's Response Draft 2

In 'When Worlds Collide': Navigating the Minefield of Social Media (2014, June 9), Rothbard claimed that the 'inherent paradox' of social media as 'social minefield' is due to the fact that people have to be constantly wary about what they post online as their content may be distorted from it's original meaning by the audience. This is unlike the idea of social media being able to share any content at your free will. Whether it is intentionally or not, there would be undesirable effects. I agree with Rothbard (2014) that social media has become more sensitive in terms of the way how information are being shared and uploaded. However, the root of this 'social mindfield' stems from the issue of creditability on social media. At the hands of wrong users, false information may be disseminated, causing unwanted happiness that led to users online being more cynical towards online sources. This is unlike what Rothbard (2014) claims that online content are being misinterpreted by the audience but rather, it is wrongly written by authors.

The issue of creditability of the content posted on social media has always been a problem for readers because it is almost impossible to have articles that is completely unbiased. The writers' own perceptions, stereotypes and other inducing factors can alter their views, which results in articles that leaned towards a certain stand. For example, in the case of the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera, their content is said to be anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-Western (Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council) but it can also be formatting their articles in a way that suits their targeted audience (Roger). It definitely depends on how one look at the articles by Al Jazeera and form his or her own judgement.

There are also articles that does not report facts but rather speculate false information for various purposes, such as gaining more readers, to get more earnings when people click on the site. During the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines jet, MH370, there are websites claiming that it has been found where in fact, there was no news about the jet (Peptone, 2014). Many people believed what the articles wrote was true and even shared the websites on their own social networking sites until the Malaysian government came out to prove it otherwise. Not only does it affect the victim's families and friends by lifting their hopes up, this shows that there are authors who write articles containing false information for their own private gains. 

In conclusion, the notion of a 'social mindfield' will always be present unless bias ceases to exist. Since bias affects our judgement towards as issue,  when there is an idea that we do agree, we tend to be more harsh when it comes to giving critiques. 

References: 

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/a-noted-arab-journalist-reveals-the-biases-of-al

Rogers, T. Is Al Jazeera Anti-Semitic and Anti-American? Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://journalism.about.com/od/trends/a/Is-Al-Jazeera-Anti-Semitic-And-Anti-American.htm

Pepitone, J. (2014, March 9). Social Media Spread False Reports of Safe Landing. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/social-media-spread-false-reports-safe-landing-n48081