MM 3223 - Katherine Ledbetter

 Social Media’s Positive Impact on Society            I have talked all semester about how Social Media tends to have a negative impact on society. I will not argue with that, but on the other hand, I sincerely believe that it can have a positive impact as well. A new social media hit the app store in September of 2016. This app was TikTok. This name is now known widely in arguably almost all countries worldwide. TikTok has blown up immensely over the past few years. It was a platform that many people were taking part in, especially at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic . “ TikTok saw a significant increase in popularity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States, with a growth of 180 percent among 15-25 year old users after the pandemic broke out and people started working and studying primarily from home” ( Statistica ). TikTok was the number one top grossing app on iOS App Store globally in the second quarter of 2020, w...

 Digital Media Literacy Many countries are not as lenient with journalism as the United States. “Under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek and receive news and express opinions” ( CPJ ). A majority of countries follow these principals and allow opinionated expression through journalism. Some countries, though, are the opposite and defy these international standards and ban or severely repress independent media and intimidate journalists with imprisonment threats, digital and physical surveillance, and other forms of harassment. The media serves as the representative for the country, so media laws are strict. In countries with strict media literacy policies foreign journalists are usually not permitted to enter, and when the select few can, they are closely monitored. There are repercussions against freelance journalists and actions are taken against these people. North Korea is an example of a country that has excessive controls ...