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Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?

The reason as to why open dialogues regarding media literacy and factual information can create conflict is due to a multitude of factors; the most prevalent one, in my opinion, being confirmation bias. To be more specific, given that the nature of an open dialogue is for individuals to freely express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings about a topic, if you are engaging in an open dialogue for long enough, you are bound to discover a different belief/perspective than what you believe/perceive. When this occurs, if both individuals cannot remain open-minded and have a civil discourse, this is when potential conflict can present itself. 

Whether we like it or not, many of us have a tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms or supports our prior beliefs or values – this is called confirmation bias (Cherry, 2022). This phenomenon is often the reason as to why two individuals remain in conflict regarding the discussion of a topic – as neither of them are open to the opposing argument due to an immediate dismissal of its credibility. Moreover, confirmation bias can become especially problematic depending on the PLN’s of each individual. If their PLN’s are composed of individuals or groups focusing on only one narrative on a topic, they are more likely to interpret any new media, news stories, or even factual information, in a way that upholds their existing ideas (2022). 

What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

By having a PLN that values media literacy, you are protecting yourself against confirmation bias. Having a PLN that values media literacy means having a PLN that does its best to decipher fact from fiction, while also providing insight to all narratives of a particular subject. In a way, having a PLN that values media literacy keeps your PLN balanced – not too focused on one narrative (potentially exposing yourself to biases), but also limits your exposure to completely false information/news. 

Cherry, K. (2022, November 10). Why do we favor information that confirms our existing beliefs? Verywell Mind. Retrieved March 12, 2023, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024

How does social media engage communications?

Social media engages communications due to its ability to connect thoughts, ideas, and people in nearly an instant. Whether an individual wants to connect with a specific individual (i.e. a plumber) or a general population (i.e. a book club on facebook), social media gives individuals the ability to do so. To be more specific, each individual with some form of social media will have a digital identity and, as we’ve learned in this class, you can tell a lot about a person based on their digital identity. When an individual wishes to connect with another, social media fosters this communication by providing the most optimal results based on both their digital identity and those it wishes to connect to, as well as their needs. For example, if I search for an accountant on LinkedIn, it will take into account the fact that I’m looking for an accountant and actually provide me with a list of names but may also, in addition, do it’s best at finding the most desirable outcome by providing me with a list of those who are in my geographical area and those who my friends have already connected with – increasing the chances of engaging in communication. 

How does social media challenge communications? Is it inclusive?

I’ve found that social media can challenge communications due to two main factors. The first one being restrictions of certain speech/views. This is a tough subject to discuss as it’s a difficult problem to solve, but nonetheless, should be as it relates to challenging communications. Given that the whole goal of communication is to exchange information, thoughts, and ideas, when one side of a discourse is censored then it no longer becomes an exchange; thus, challenging communication. This also impacts inclusivity as, depending on an individuals’ speech/views, they may or may not be allowed to participate on certain social media platforms and/or join certain groups on social media. 

The second factor is a lack of accountability. Although there is the presence of digital identities and PLN’s on social media, there is also a universal belief among social media users that as long as they don’t input any real information in their account then they’ll remain anonymous. This can then lead to the users acting in a different manner than they would in a face-to-face context – most often in a more irresponsible, inappropriate, and even hateful way. This challenges communication as it threatens credibility and genuine interactions. 

Does your PLN amplify the views of others? 

I believe that my PLN does amplify the views of others because my PLN is composed of other friends and/or individuals that I have at least one common factor with – whether it’s a content creator that focuses on a activity that I like, athlete that plays in a sport I like, or an individual with who I have a mutual friend with. Because of this, when I am exposed to individuals that I have nothing in common with, their views get amplified as they may seem ‘alien’ or simply different to what I am used to being exposed to. 

How to better use social media to build PLN – Influencers & Commentators

When it comes to influencers and commentators wanting to build their PLN, social media is the best tool to do so as it is what will generate the most interactions – which ideally, would lead to numerous connections. In order to generate the most interactions on social media, they should decide who it is they want to connect with and then find out what content those individuals want to see. For example, if you’re an influencer wanting to get into the gaming industry, your best bet would be to produce and release gaming content through social media. As long as it’s good content that pleases your audience and is consistently released, your target population would continuously grow.

Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares; how does a PLN help and hinder development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?

A PLN can help the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse due to its nature of being able to connect a multitude of individuals that share the same goals and/or needs. In other words, a teacher that has created a PLN with various other teachers would gain access to the collaboration and insight on various learning styles and/or techniques that have been deemed successful by another (or multiple) individual(s). With that being said, PLN can also hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse due to information overload; this would occur when a teacher requests for an answer/thought/opinion among their PLN and is met with a multitude of various responses. This would make the development of their thought/idea much more difficult as they become overloaded with various solutions. This factor would be especially problematic in scenarios where there isn’t a clear ‘correct’ response. 

How do educators create discourse?

PLN’s ability to create discourse would without a doubt exceed that of an educator’s ability to do so, but does have some drawbacks – the main one being the lack of control of the words/actions of others. Luckily for educators, they have the ‘upper-hand’ when dealing with this variable due to their ability to promote a safe and inclusive educational setting/classroom. After creating this setting within their students, educators can create discourse using various learning strategies; whether it’s behaviorism (the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment, seen in hands-on experiences in an educational environment), cognitivism (the idea that humans learn from thinking, seen in reflective writing assignments), or constructivism (learning strategy that emphasizes collaboration and recollection of experiences in order to construct new knowledge, seen in open-ended questions in group settings). 

What is the role of social media in education?

Given that social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks, its main role in education should be as a facilitator. In other words, social media should be used as a means to facilitate (1) communication between both the student and the teacher, as well as student to student, and teacher to teacher, (2) facilitate engagement between students and their learning topic, and (3) to facilitate personalization in order to maximize both the communication and engagement aspect of learning.  

What are some problems with social media communications in education settings?

I believe the biggest problem is simply the improper use of social media as an educational tool due to a rushed implementation. More specifically, when students that are rushed into using a certain social media platform in an educational setting without prior experience using said platform will experience problems such as lack of engagement (often due to the frustration that arises when they cannot properly use the platform) and exposure to misinformation (often due to the lack of discrimination training in differentiating fact from opinion).