Has social media incresed the quality of news or decreased it?

I believe that social media has increased the news and information that we read, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of the news has gotten better. Everybody has access to posting their own information on to the social media websites, which could be a good or bad thing. We don’t know if all of the news that we are reading is actually the truth. Even with everybody knowing that, most people still get their news through social media because it's so much more convenient. Using social media you can get your news on the go for free, instead of having to go out of your way to go and buy a newspaper. There are now apps that you can download onto your phone to access everyday news. In our society today, people are too lazy to go and buy a newspaper. They would rather just click on the application on their phone and read the news that this social media provides them with. Personally, I don't remember the last time I picked up a newspaper and started reading it, or even watched the news. Instead, I use my blackberry to find out the weather on my "weather app" or read the news online via Twitter or Facebook. Nowadays, most teens prefer social media websites over watching the television to find out news worthy topics. To me, that is pretty unbelievable since the TV has always been a main leisure activity for the average teenager. I also fall into the category that uses social media more since I use Twitter and Facebook throughout the whole day. I have easy access to Facebook and Twitter through my phone so it's easily accessible whenever I want it. In comparison, the television isn't portable or convenient. 65% of people get their news through social media websites which means more people get their news and information from social media rather than a newspaper or radio. Social media has increased the amount of people who read the news and the quantity of news that we read, but this doesn't mean that the news we are reading is necessarily better quality.

Social Media

Is social media a fad? In my opinion I believe that social media is definitely not a fad. A fad is a trend, and I don’t see social media ever going out of style. Social media is certainly the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution. People use social media to interact and communicate with people over the web on a daily basis. Social media includes: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, Flickr, MySpace, MyBlogLog, Digg and many more. Personally, I use Facebook and Twitter every single day, I can even say I’m obsessed with them. I spend over 10 hours a day checking and rechecking my Facebook newsfeed for recent updates such as status changes and newly uploaded photos. I’m a little more obsessed with Twitter. I check my Twitter right when I wake up, and I continue checking it all throughout the day until I go to bed, and I send at least 5 tweets a day. It only took Facebook 9 months to reach over 100 million users. To me that is absolutely crazy to have reached that many people in that short period of time. Facebook even tops Google for weekly web searches and has so many users that if it was a country, it would be the third largest in the World. Our society uses social media on a daily basis, and that is where we all get our news now. If I want to see the weather for the day, I don’t turn on my TV or radio; I go on my phone, go on my Twitter and see what CP24 tweeted about the weather for the day. I think it’s simply amazing how far social media has come in such a short period of time. I can’t even imagine what social media is going to be like in the future, and how much we are all going to rely on it.

this is my first blog :)