Education is the Key!

 

How technology and new media has reshaped our society is amazing to say the least.  You cannot do anything in today’s society without knowing something about the different technologies that are out there.  It is used in every position that is out there nowadays.  As the technologies have evolved, it has impacted how different jobs are completed.  It could be as simple as making someone’s job easier or, in some cases, replaces the person on the job completely.

With these constant changes, it is important that everyone is moving with the changes and not fighting against them.  Schools realize the need for these changes and especially the need to embrace these changes.  It would be an injustice to children if this weren’t the case.  The changes have made it possible for children to excel in different areas.  It has created more opportunities and industries throughout the world.  This is why it is so important that children are exposed to these changes in media and technology as early and quickly as possible.

 

Learning the new technologies is never enough.  These is a time and place for the use.  It is vital that everyone that is going to be using these understand that.  When Justine Sacco made those tweets on her personal account, she had no idea what kind of backlash was going to occur.  The important aspect of her story is that it is not singular.  It has happen more often than people think.  The difference is that it is not put out into the media unless one of the parties is fighting against the outcome that occurred.



 





The greatest improvement that can ever take place is education.  It is through education that individuals are able to learn what is happening and how to use these advancements to their advantage.  Many of the new technologies that are out there don’t have an education plan with them.  People are learning on their own on how to use them.  Creating a way for individuals to learn how to use these advancements effectively will be a huge impact. 

The beginning place for this education is with children.  They are growing up in a society that is always connected.  It is not like in the early years of the industrial era where telegrams were the quickest way to get in touch with someone or get information out.  It used to take days, weeks, and sometimes, months for information to get out.  Today, when something happens, there is something on the internet within minutes if not seconds.  It’s vital to teach children that just because something is reported doesn’t mean that the information is not going to change or contradict itself.  We are living in an age of immediate gratification so the cost of that is that information is not always correct.

 

Continuing the education throughout someone’s educational career is important.  With the changes always coming, the education needs to change with it.  This includes education in elementary, middle, and high school all the way up to college.  Education in the workplace is also on that list now since you want to make sure that your employees are using the different social media sites correctly.  You don’t want an employee posting that your company is going to make a huge announcement about something before it actually occurs.  Or post videos of something that puts the company in a bad light. 

The only way to improve and more forward with the technological changes is through education and training.  It sounds very simple but there are many components to this.  The need to have people trained is a necessity in today’s society.  The more that people use these technologies the more we need to be educated on how to use them.  Ignoring the changes is not going to solve anything.  Living in denial of the changes will do nothing but keep both people and groups or companies behind the curveball of where society is going to.





References:

Beavis, C. (2013). Young people, new media and education: Participation and possibilities. Social Alternatives, 32(2), 39-44. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1447217988?accountid=3783

Blanchfield, P. (2015). Twitter's outrage machine should be stopped. but justine sacco is the wrong poster child. Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1658053147?accountid=3783

Carter, Bill (2013, April 17). The F.B.I. Criticizes the News Media After Several Mistaken Reports of an Arrest. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/media/fbi-criticizes-false-reports-of-a-bombing-arrest.html?_r=1

Cook, M. (2015). Social media add twist to modern marketing: Basics still apply despite the march of tech advancement. Arkansas Business, 32(11), 14.

Mashhadi, S. Q. (2014, February 23). Impacts of social media in society. Technology Times, 5(8). Retrieved from http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/essentials/article/GALE|A359595620?u=nhc_main&sid=summon&userGroup=nhc_main

Olorunnisola, A. A., & Martin, B. L. (2013). Influences of media on social movements: Problematizing hyperbolic inferences about impacts. Telematics and Informatics, 30(3), 275. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2012.02.005

 

Parikh, M. (2012). Technology and young children. YC Young Children, 67(3), 10-11. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1019288795?accountid=3783

SPJ code of ethics. (2014, September 6). Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved from: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Svatosová, V. (2012). Social media such as the phenomenon of modern business. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 6(4), 1-23. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1315304118?accountid=3783

Tolic, M. (2011). Media culture and media education in modern school. World Journal of Education, 1(2), 89-n/a. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1030090914?accountid=3783

Washkuch, F. (2014, 02). Sacco tweet scandal a lesson for young PR professionals. PRweek, 17, 22. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1511913392?accountid=3783

Youmans, W. L., & York, J. C. (2012). Social media and the activist toolkit: User agreements, corporate interests, and the information infrastructure of modern social movements. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 315-329. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01636.x