HARRISBURG, Pa. — Social media has become a main source of information for people looking to consume news in real time. We can see this in the most recent world event that is the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Charles Palmer, a professor at Harrisburg University, says that credibility is one of the biggest issues across all social media platforms.
“People being on so many platforms, and having cell phone access to it, it’s always in their pocket," he said. "It’s that reason that people are going to continue to use the platform for that purpose."
When you use social media, however, there is a chance that you'll find misinformation.
“People will go to the sources they're most familiar with," he said. "Unfortunately, those sources aren’t checked, they’re getting misinformation in many cases, and so, that’s just proliferated throughout the platform."
Another issue about using social media as your primary source:
“You may only be hearing one voice," Palmer said. "If you are members of a certain group on Facebook, and it’s a group of like-minded people, who think alike, then the information you’re going to get is a little biased."
But social media is not all bad—take the situation in Ukraine.
“By having these devices that are broadcasting information to us, we’re really able to see firsthand what’s going on, because we’re seeing the frontlines, which we normally wouldn’t see, and it gives voice to the people in the region," he said.