The influence of social media to us is unquestionable, we rely so much from these social sites. But one thing we are not aware of is we are believing too easily on the things from these sites.
Almost all of us is now engaged in social media. We did this
for so many reasons like socialization, communication, or even liesure. It is
safe to quote that we rely so much on social media.
Basically, social media is where people gathers, or if
social sites are a particular place, it is where people are gathered together
in a very huge number. Beyond this, there is a fact that lies where social
media is the best place to publish news, articles, videos, or to advertise
products/services. Because it holds massive numbers of people who are the
possible viewers or users of our article or endorsed product.
Along with this, there are people out there who don't care
about others and only thinks of being popular, or to earn money which they
publish or endorse false information or products. Well, sad to say, most of
these false information would always go viral thus reach so many people, and
the worst part is that most of us are blinded for the truth. We tend to believe
on false information we read and we share this making us one of the instrument
in spreading such falsity.
This is what we called MOB MENTALITY. In this state, we are
influenced by what we think was right and adopt to that certain thing we
believe. And this is not good for us.
Many people have been suffering because of this. They were
bullied, bashed and shamed through social media and even in personal
circumstances. To make an example, let us recall the roadrage incident where a
cyclist was killed by an ARMY reservist. But before everything was in place,
the video of the said roadrage escalated on social media. Many have seen the
actual video of the incident, where a particular website posted a picture and
had accused someone (not the real suspect) of being the responsible for the
death of the boy.
This man appeared before the NBI to clear his name, although
he is not really the real suspect (after the investigation) he had suffered so
many criticims and bullying. He receives so many heart-breaking messages which
calls him names or giving him unpleasant words which he think as too much from
the people.
That is what we're mistaken, we always jumps into
conclusions just because the information comes from the social media. Where
information from this place should not be taken easily, we the users/readers
are responsible for verifying the legitimacy of the content that we read.
Because this is the social media, the place for the freedom to speak, so there
is no strong basis that all of the posted information here are true or not. As
what was mentioned, we need to verify for ourselves.
Here are some tips to verify if the information we read is
true or not:
For websites, blogs and other link we see on social sites:
1. Make sure that the sites are reliable.
There are many websites we encounter, some leads us to the
wrong link, others might gives us valuable to read. So, try to remember those
sites that would not lead you to the wrong content. ALWAYS refer to another
source if you have read something interesting to verify if the information is
true or not.
2. Make sure that the site is legitimate.
There are no doubts for information we read from big news
sites like CNN, BBC, or the local news site. But these site which are not much
known by many are the sites that we should not believe by an instant. Look for
their sources, and/or search on google about their headline and choose the site
that is legit and reliable.
For pages/accounts/channels (public figure, bands, companies, etc):
1. Look for the verified badge.
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram has it's way of
separating the real page of a real person or business from those imitators by
putting them verification badge (a check mark after their names). Meaning, this
pages, channel, accounts and others which has the verification badge are
verified users therefore non-emitators. For example, if you search on YouTube
about the top 10 plays of the 2015-2016 NBA regular season find the uploader
with a check mark on their names, because these are companies and organizations
that really studies the plays thus you expect fair basis than those countdown
who were made by the fans which maybe bias on the player or team that they are
supporting.
2. Know the source.
Tip above is one of the things to consider. But what if it
is not a page or a channel? You saw a post of something interesting from a
person, what you should do? Anyone has the freedom to check other accounts.
Look for their information, their friends, their posts and any other small
things that would satisfy your criteria in verifying the legitimacy of the
account.
To summarize all of these, we should always be vigelant into
something we saw, view, watch, read and post on social sites, because sometimes
these simple posting or sharing of ours means life for others. Thus, before you
decide if it is real or not, you should first check for yourself in order to
avoid this mentality. Who knows, if all of us are aware of this, we could even
help our country mess-free from the wrath of the force from social media.