Social Media And Its Effect On Our Daily Lives - 1121 Words

In recent years reporting has become a manufacturer of division. Bold headlines, terse descriptions, and mindless calls to action, capture the minds of consumers. These hooks then funnel users into one of many competitive media cleavages, where their ideas can be rewarded by a corrupt editorial board. The practice of seeking resources that validate existing beliefs is by no means a new phenomenon, but social media further enables a participant to intentionally narrow their minds. The infectious and demanding nature of social media prompted this analysis of its effect on our news consumption. The search for amusement and truth in our daily lives is easily transmitted to our virtual persona, an inherent truth of social networking. We†¦show more content†¦I conducted the interviews with five close acquaintances, all of whom regularly use some form of social media and are enrolled at the university. The fragmentation of media is an evolution of a publication or outlet, choosing to direct its support towards a specific platform, or idea, in an attempt to pander to specific sect. The most obvious example of this phenomenon is the polarization of American politics, and the subsequent polarization of American news. The act of choosing a specific media source based on mutual support for a party or issue is often referred to as selective exposure. The interviews were focused on the prevalence of selective exposure in a student’s social media habits and their primary sources for newsworthy information. I was prompted to alter my original task to include the analysis of primary sources as a result of the topic regularly appearing in the planned interviews. I had intended to exclusively address the consumption of news through the virtual arms of traditional publications. However, most interviewees recalled learning of an event