Everyone is always told to be careful what they hear on the internet because it might not always be true, and it's sad that the more the internet grows, the more true that saying becomes. We are always told to be careful of certain websites and apps, but it's more apparent that everyone and anyone lies on the internet, no matter what app you are on. You will never get the truth 100% on the internet anymore; there will always be a third party to twist words and make the story either sound more interesting or put it in how they want to see it and not how it went.
The first concept that interested me was “The Twitter Files & Government Censorship." Twitter is a big social media used by people of all ages to find a lot of different important, political, national, weather disasters, celebrity dramas, etc. Unlike TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat, Twitter is more opinion where you directly interact in the comments with other people. Sometimes, this can lead to bigger issues because it's everyone with strong opinions going back and forth, but at the end of the day, it is free speech. What I learned is that once Elon Musk took over Twitter, he found what is now known as “The Twitter Files." These files showed the world how the government was intervening with what was being put onto the internet. They were banning accounts and certain news because they didn’t want the people hearing the opinions of the people. Elon Musk wanted Twitter to be a place for free speech and no restrictions. This is just another bullet point on how you can never fully trust the internet and whose hands are in the power of social media.
A theory that caught my eye is the spiral of silence. It's crazy that in a world of diversity, inclusion, and equality, there are still so mnay people afraid of speaking out on how they feel. In High School, I understood this theory because I was a 15-year-old girl who wanted to be made fun of, so I usually lied about foods I enjoyed, like tuna salad. After all, I was scared someone would make fun of me for it. Growing up in this new society, I've always believed in the expression of yourself because, at the end of the day, this is a free-speech country, and that is something no one should take advantage of. On the other hand, in this world and society, speaking up leads to violence or hate. It's always the people with the loudest voices that stay quiet due to the fear of hate and losing what they built themselves just because they have a different view of someone else.
Understanding different theories and concepts through the use of social media is what's gonna lead us to a better and more trusting world. There are just so many more that have a major impact on the way we view things and understand things. I enjoy hearing people's sides of issues because they give me a lot of different views and pull in a lot of great points I wouldn't think of. It's so hard when now, no one wants to speak up, and the ones who do, their facts are never right they just want the views. How are we supposed to live in a world with free speech, when speaking turns to hate?
