What does it mean to network using social media?

Social media has been a huge part of my life for over ten years, and will continue to be a huge aspect of my life. Social networking includes posting photos on instagram or facebook as well as communicating through emails, text messages and other instant messages. This allows people to stay connected with one another by always being able to connect through social media. The networking using social media allows people to share updates about their life to keep people up to date. For example, I posted the picture above to my instagram page to show my followers I am now back in Victoria and enjoying Thunderfest. Moreover, networking through social media also allows students to connect with each other and professors when not on campus. For example, because of COVID-19, all classes are through social media. The networking allows students and professors to interact via zoom and other online services. Without networking through social media, online classes would not be as successful as they currently are.

How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

Networking through social media has greatly increased over the last decade. People depend on social media to engage with others. However, networking using social media has allowed people to share their opinions. There are many social movements such as black lives matter and the farmers in India, that become viral over social media. Individual’s can then choose to post on their own account to help spread the information about the movement. This motivates individuals to share their opinion about the matter. Moreover, individuals are motivated to network on social media to keep others updated. People can post pictures, status and messages about one’s life for followers to see. Some individuals feel the need to post, to show others the importance of one’s life. Furthermore, since COVID-19, networking through zoom has greatly increased. Zoom motivates students and faculty to engage in class material while interacting with others. Overall, there are many factors that lead individuals to network through social media.

What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

Unfortunately, networking through social media is not perfect. There are many downfalls and concerns that involve social media. To begin, cyberbullying is a huge concern for students using social media. Cyberbullying is other individuals bullying one online by sending negative messages or comments. However, individuals can hide their identity, therefore are able to bully others without anyone knowing who it is. Moreover, there is also limited privacy through media accounts. This means that an individual’s account can be seen by followers and people who do not follow. Individuals often add personal information to their media account that random people can see. This brings privacy concern to individuals, however, media also allows accounts to be private where only followers can see.

Furthermore, there are benefits regarding public media. Social media is a great way to raise awareness and money for important causes. For example, the UVic soccer team created a fundraiser to support their previous team captain who developed brain cancer. The soccer team made an account called vikeskickcancer to raise awareness for their fundraiser. The account also provided a link where people can donate to cancer research. Vikeskickcancer raised over 80,000 dollars from supporters. Without social media to help, the team may have not raised the same amount for cancer research.