It all started with Wikipedia….Well, maybe not, but social
media has brought about a revolution of sorts in how teenagers and people
around the globe do a lot of things, including research. As celebrities,
reporters, and everyday Americans turn to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for
major updates, fact-based reporting can get complicated.
On the one hand, it's all there. With just a click of a
button, you can scroll through the Real Donald Trump’s twitter feed and read
about whatever vitriolic rant he’s currently expounding on. You can follow
Taylor Swift on Instagram to view her latest escapades and updates. You can
friend the “glimpses of Gaza” on snapchat to get direct, live video feeds of
the region. You can read blog posts and Wikipedia links on topics you’re
interested in, or need more information on accessibly. You can use this
information in your own research. However, relying on social media as a primary
news source can be a slippery slope.
In India, the reputable Times
of India newspaper just published a piece claiming that Bollywood and
Hollywood star Priyanka Chopra may have tried to commit suicide years ago.
Aside from the questionable newsworthiness of the piece itself, the other
glaring question is: Who’s the source? Well, the “source” is Priyanka Chopra’s
ex-manager, with whom she had a contentious relationship. Was it an interview?
No; it was a series of tweets posed by her ex-manager, Prakash Jaju, commenting
on her “vulnerability” and depression on his Twitter account. This is the limit.
Social media can be used as a starting point and a small
reference for research. Certainly, if you are writing a piece on President
Obama’s current initiatives, it is more than okay to refer to his official
Twitter and Facebook accounts and report what he has to say there. Of course,
going to the official White House webpage is an even better idea, but Twitter
and Facebook are good places to get a pulse for things.
Sometimes when beginning new research on an idea or for a
paper, I turn to any number of sources, including Wikipedia and blogs. These
aren’t going to be my primary sources of information, but they offer me a
starting ground to further develop my thought and get to great primary sources.
I might not cite a Wikipedia article directly, but I may use the links it cites
to find a book or a research article I can
cite in my research. A blog post may offer a fresh perspective I hadn’t
considered, even if I need to cross-reference the information provided.
For teenagers and other youngsters growing up in this brave
new world of rapid technology evolution, we as a society need to educate them
about both the power and the pitfalls of social media as a research source. On
the one hand, social media allows a platform for famous and everyday people to post about themselves or issues they are
well-versed in to an audience directly, unfiltered. On the other hand, it
allows messages and information to get published directly, unfiltered. Social
media is a great starting point from which to investigate an issue. However, it
is not a finishing point. The goal should not be to stop our youngsters from
turning to social media, but to harness its information with finesse and a
critical, cross-referencing, eye.
ks1531@georgetown.edu
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