Digital Power and Exploitation

The Power of Social Media

In a day and age where Digital media has become the forefront of our day-to-day lives, the use and power of this same medium is constantly growing and being exploited, both in positive and negative ways. Power as a concept, is a very delicate tool which nowadays can be seen to evoke more negative approaches rather than using its benefits for the greater good. Nowadays, power can be categorised through the number of Instagram followers you have, the number of likes and friends you can gather on Facebook, and how many people throughout the world, idolise you as an individual.

Celebrity figures such as Barack Obama, Ellen, Oprah and more, can be seen as real life digital influencers who use the power of digital media for the greater good. Their content revolves mostly around positivity or how we can reach a certain level of positivity in our lives and in the lives of others.

Apart from the celebrity figures, there are also institutions, companies and campaigns, as well as music videos which are being used as a means to show off and exploit and reap the benefits of social media, for the greater good of our planet. This can be shown through various campaigns which promote the reduction of plastic, and post very sensitive yet eye opening content, in which we become conscious with what is wrong in the world; and in the end what we can do better. Various campaigns have been promoted online and a significant amount of people have contributed to these causes, and in return is someway, somehow, making a difference to the world, in a more positive way, no matter how small the contribution is.

Music and music videos also play a big role in this positive exploitation of power, through the example of Lil Dicky’s “Earth” video, which in a span of 3 weeks gained over 100 million views due to its powerful and meaningful message. Lil Dicky, as a songwriter, usually puts out content related to quite comedic songs, most of the time very vulgar and strange. In this instance, one of the most underrated artists out there, posts and promotes a song revolving around our world, and how beautiful it is, and how much we should care for what was given to us, and how much we should care for it for the future generation.

Yet, where there are people who use the medium itself for the greater good of others, nowadays we find a variety of businesses and news reporters who post the newly trending word “Fake News”. As a result of this, there is a whole different and new sort of chaos, in which nowadays, we as individuals question what we read and do not truly know the credibility of the writer or the news agency. While in other instances, we are drawn to these articles for their bold and striking content, and in some cases we believe these “Fake News” articles. Yet, in the end, how can we differentiate between the real content that is put out, against those which may be fake? Can we even trust social media and news reporters nowadays?

Trusting Social Media

Nowadays, it is very normal for various stories and rumours to be posted online, and these stories gather a wide variety of clout. Stories resulting in governmental problems, world crisis’, and even boiling down to a football player or coach transfer rumour. These stories are widely viewed and commented on, as well as believed; but who is to say that these reports are all entirely true?

It was found how public confidence and trust, in matters relating to governments, politicians, journalists and scientists is constantly diminishing and reaching a new low. This is due to past encounters and stories in which these sort of occupations failed to be trusted, and in a sense were caught putting out fake news or findings.

Yet when it comes to anonymous rumours and stories on social media, the public seem rather confident in believing these stories, instead of others. When random news agencies, sports bloggers, etc, post stories regarding their own respective line of work, they gather a large amount of clicks and views. Wether the stories are true or falsified, these agencies or companies always seem to find a way to find and report extra sensitive or breaking news content, in a way which makes it believable.

This was seen recently when football coach Pep Guardiola was rumoured to be leaving his respective team Manchester City to join Juventus as their new coach in coming months. At a press conference where Pep Guardiola himself, let down these rumours, he conspired as to how these stories have become widely trusted and popular in regards to his story. He has said that neither Manchester City have reported or called the coach himself to be sacked or put on a transfer list to coach Juventus, and neither have Juventus confirmed any talks regarding this matter. He said that he cannot understand how news reporters manage to cover these stories, when neither himself or both clubs have actually had any contact or negotiations on the matter, and he finds it rather absurd and disrespectful for these news reporters to be covering this form of fake news in such a big way.

The demise of Viral content

Sometimes, in todays world you do not need to be popularly followed or well known to create viral media. One video, or photo can catapult you in a seat of “power” simply because it has been widely shared and spread across the web. This can be notably seen through the use of memes, and the old age vines, which began to become widely popular and viral through the quality, relatability and comedy of its content. Through viral videos, unknown people have been flushed with internet popularity, who nowadays are known by the majority of web users.

Yet, not all viral media can be said to be positive. Shocking videos such as those relating to the ISIS attacks, the Christ Church attacks, and other forms of terrorist attacks, etc, are easily catapulted to the top story of the day, for its brutal and gory content. This was notably seen in recent weeks, where the Christ Church killer randomly live streamed shocking acts of murder on various victims in New Zealand on Facebook. The content of this video spread like a wild virus across various social media becoming widely viewed by many, and even shared by many, including social media platforms and news stations, thinking that it was the right thing to do. This struck a wave of negativity on social media and was proof of how anyone who has access to any form of social media, be it a nobody or a celebrity, is entitled to a certain form of power which can be exploited in a matter of seconds, through a tap or click of a button.

Severity of Social Media platforms

In the recent months, it was found how social media platforms were caught stealing and misusing their clients data, without their consent, to be sold to various corporations for their own personal use. This, first and foremost, is an act completely against the Data Protection Act of 2001, and therefore is considered and illegal thing to do unless consented. Nowadays social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram try to include in their own terms and conditions that they're users data could be use for other means, yet to the public eye, no one would really and truly know that this is happening.

This is a continuous and never ending issue, as even to this very day, Facebook CEO and Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg is being fined and brought in front of the court, to explain and find a way to resolve these issues. Due to this, the company itself is losing millions of dollars, and is in a state of shock, as well as it could see Mr.Zuckerberg in a very fragile position with the law. Constant allegations are being put against him, and are, by time, only getting worse.

This is also a case when it comes to locations, as well as the viral epidemic of how our mobiles and computers listen to whatever we say and in result produce ads concerning what we would have actually spoken or searched about. It was found that companies like Google would base their ad content revolving around your personal searches and words spoken in front of the device. This was a shock to many people, who felt like even in the most private of times, we are never completely alone, and we feel that we are constantly being heard and watched. And that is the unfortunate truth of todays technological world. Even though there are ways and means in which these issues can be resolved or reduced, it serves as a constant reminder of how we are never really alone, or safe in this matter, as we are constantly being heard or watched, by people we do not know about, on the web.

We are in a world and age in which everything that is posted online is stored into a database, even if the content is removed afterwards. There are ways and means in which this data could be retrieved by people of a higher authority for good and bad reasons. This was the case when the application “Snapchat” claims to delete the content that was shot or used on the app, 10 seconds after it has been viewed. It was shockingly found that this data would in reality be kept and stored in a database, and at any time can be accessed by the people who are in charge of the application. This led to many people becoming scared, as well as removing the app, as the app was also well known for individuals to send personal and private nudity photos through this app, thinking that after 10 seconds the video will be permanently removed. Due to this issue, the app has seen a severe loss in users, and could be claimed to be a “dying” application and business.

In a world controlled and dependant on technology, there is a constant personal hope that one day, the medium itself will stopped being used for purposes such as these. There is hope that one day, hopefully in the near future, that social media will continue to be the medium and saviour of controversial economic and environmental issues, and attack problems such as Climate Change, Plastic removal, Recycling, and the planting of more trees. Social Media is a powerful tool, and when used and put in the hands of the right people for the right issues, I truly do believe it could be what saves this planet and all its creations from complete chaos, insanity and demise.

Ryan Muscat Verzin | BFA 2019 | MAY 2019

Related posts:

Was the best at KFDA so far.. “Le Cercle” is published by Eylül F. Akıncı in choreodramaturgy.

How to create an action plan for your next technology skill for a software engineer and update your resume?

Es ist noch nicht lange her, da habe ich hier im Blog den Beitrag Apple Watch schon bald mit LTE? veröffentlicht. Gestern auf der Apple WWDC 2017 war es denn tatsächlich soweit. Neben zahlreichen…