The Battle For Public Opinion
How have people used social media to win the hearts and minds of people?
People can use social media to win the hearts and minds of others by posting heartwarming content that shows people who they are through their interests/beliefs, favorite activities, and daily adventures. Before someone is able to connect with another individual on a personal level, the two people need to get to know each other first. Social media is a great way for people to discover new things about others through their posts. People are usually won over by overs when having a shared interest or belief with them. That being said, social media can falsely win the hearts and minds of people when individuals create these nonrealistic lives to display. For example, maybe someone is really good at editing photos and wins others over by displaying beautiful pictures and photoshopping themselves at places they have never really been. Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to win people over whether the content is truly accurate or a facade.
Give an example of how it’s been used in a positive, or negative way.
A positive way that social media has been used is by allowing people to connect with each other and maintain their relationships from no matter where they are in the world. I have some friends that I still have friendships with mainly due to communicating on Snapchat or Instagram. We will go long periods of time without talking on the phone, but we will continuously send each other messages or memes on social media platforms. Individuals are able to stay up to date on friends and family member's lives easily with the help of social media. A negative way that social media has been used is when people take part in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is when individuals attack other individuals through direct messages, commenting on posts, or even posting hate content directed towards specific individuals. It is a serious crime to commit cyber bullying and it is something that more people should raise awareness on.
How has social media become a powerful mobilization channel?
Social media has become a powerful mobilization channel by allowing people to raise awareness for certain issues and efficiently network to ultimately create communities that can work together to solve these issues. For example, say a child went missing and the police were having no luck in finding the child. Say someone in the community made a social media account to raise awareness to help find the child. Maybe that page eventually reaches someone else in the community that ends up identifying the child. Without that social media account, many individuals would have been unaware of that child be a missing child. Or say a wildfire burned down a neighborhood and families needed somewhere to stay. People in the community could share on their social media pages how they are willing to support their community and spread the word.
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