In today’s society, social media is a big part of day-to-day life. From when people wake up to when they go to bed, there are constant videos, photos, marketing, story-times, and many others that are shoved in society’s faces.
With all of these social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. it makes it easy to connect with friends and see what people are up to, but along with these apps comes different types of content.
Through social media people share opinions and engage in discussions on certain aspects. With this comes the influence of social media. While not all influential content is bad, it makes it easier for people to paint out a false perspective of others and with this causes loads of miscommunication and information.
“If something is posted about someone and the creator’s tone of voice is harsh or the rumors sound believable I can start to feel a certain way about that person, which is what the creator wants me to feel without the other point of view,” Gracie Taylor said.
The things that others like, share, and post can often create a false perception of a person. On social media it is easy to put someone out to be something they are not. This is what harms today’s generation with all of the rumors and nasty things posted.
“I have been caught up in some nasty rumors and believing things that I shouldn’t on social media,” Rowan McKinzie said.
Spreading rumors and posting misinformation is not just an issue for teens and adults but also covers many other aspects. Spreading misinformation on celebrities is one of the most common. Seeing a post from an “official” news source discussing something on what a celebrity has done or a rumor that was recently spread can change someone’s opinion on that celebrity’s work. This has been shown with constant scandals throughout the years and even today in Hollywood following all the conspiracy theories with the recent drama and court cases that have gone down in the last couple months.
While a lot of misinformation is being spread about Hollywood another widespread misinformation would be with the upcoming election. Social media is often flooded with misleading plots to make one candidate look better than the other or to get someone to switch parties and vote for another’s side.
With posts like these it is easy to be influenced or believe false information. Most of these posts are made to influence others and get them to believe what the creator wants.
One of the ways most do this is through emotion. It is proven that if a post is filled with strong emotional reactions such as anger, joy, fear, or even sadness it is most likely to persuade and be shared through others. Emotional posts like these are not only used for bash or politics but also marketing.
A lot of these tactics will be used through marketing to make the people buy their products. Most of the time a company will pay an influencer to persuade the audience in buying certain products off of their website. Promoting products on social media strikes more attention to others and even more when someone of common interest or of one’s liking is recommending the product.
“A bunch of clothes and makeup I have bought have been under the influence of social media. Especially when I see girls at my school who also have bought and like the product,” Taylor said.
Peers play a huge part in the influence on the media. If friends are posting or all liking the same type of things it can cause the others to slowly start to like and post the same things too.
This is often how rumors end up spreading further out than just a certain group of people. It is also how things like fashionable items get sold too.
While the media has some good influence it can also lead to misguided information and even hurtful misconceptions.
I personally agree that the media influences us in many different ways. I have been influenced into buying certain things from posts I see or videos that people on TikTok have made reviewing the product. On the other side of the influential era I have also believed false information on people that I have seen in posts. This has caught up to me in the end and created some nasty problems throughout my life.
I have also been posted to false things and have had people believe nasty rumors about me. The influence of social media can be extremely hurtful but it is part of the world we live in today and I still think that a lot of it can do good. You just need to know your facts and always make sure to hear both sides and fact check on a situation before believing one side or the other.
