The News is Going Digital: What This Means For Us
The landscape of news circulation is transforming. The decline of traditional news consumption, such as newspapers, television, and radio, is no longer a new phenomenon; the advent of social media has led to a rise of digital news consumption, encouraging multi-generation users to stay informed through interactive methods. Lately, digital news consumption has undergone another evolutionary phase in which news is shared in more superficial, dynamic, and subjective form by content creators and audiences on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
In our democracy that prioritizes the First Amendment, stopping users from creating contents of their choice would be unconstitutional. However, as members of democracy, we need to remind ourselves that we are responsible for educating each other in the most transparent, conscientious, and ethical way. So how do we encourage users to become responsible citizens who value balanced and accurate news sharing in our current participatory democracy?
Social media platforms need to take actions to respond to the consequences of the spread of false news. X (formerly Twitter) used to allow users from the community to report misleading posts. Such an approach - which, unfortunately, no longer exists as Elon Musk, the platform’s CEO, removed to eradicate “censorship from social media platforms” - used to encourage users to evaluate the validity of news they read and provides opportunities to find more reliable sources.
Although one can argue it is unconstitutional to censor anything on social media platforms, mild censorship may be necessary to prevent spreading news that is inaccurate, defamatory, and disparaging. The regulation of posts, a method that Twitter once implemented in its operation, may raise questions on the violation of freedom of speech, but will substantiate balanced and accurate news sharing that preserves a safe and efficient democracy. Moreover, to encourage ethical sharing behavior, platforms should consider enforcing guidelines on “verified” accounts and badges, revoking and gifting the verified status to news-based accounts based on their reliability and trustworthiness.
The good news is that our new, young generation is able to stay up to date with the current situation of the world in a more engaging manner, although the depth of knowledge will continue to be superficial and shallow and the level of news literacy will continue to lack proficiency. However, if we encourage trustworthy spread of news in an interactive and interesting fashion, even with the decline of traditional news, the next generation will be aware of the world around them.
