Social Networking and Stabilization

In our lives, we are all about priorities and what we think is important; whatever is on our priority "list" is what gets our attention, and it is no different with social media.  In this day and age of technology and social networking, we are becoming more aware of so many events from around the world almost as it's happening than we ever have before; events such as the recent terrorist attacks on Paris were spread across the news as well as the social media scene immediately.  But what about other similar types of events and news that we don't hear about or see, such as the terrorist attacks in Nigeria that occurred around the same time as the Paris attacks took place?  Aren't those just as important to share with the world and bring to people's attention?  It's all about priorities.

I think that in our age of instant knowledge and vast information that is available to us, that we as citizen reporters and news consumers need to be very diligent and careful about not making news of any kind more of a priority than other types of news.  Being selective with what is made known to individuals around the globe is not fair reporting, nor is it the complete picture of society.  Granted, it is difficult to report everything, in fact it's downright impossible to accomplish that, but there is room for improvement.  It's not too much to ask that we be informed about occurrences in the world such as the attacks in Nigeria instead of reading about Miley Cyrus' latest party or who's divorce in Hollywood is more expensive.  In this digital and technological age, power has been given to the people and citizens of the world; social media could do wonders for reporting and spreading news of all kinds, but especially concerning incidents that occur and may not be shared any other way.  Social media started out as being a cool novelty, but it has quickly become and is capable of being a powerful tool, especially in journalism.  But we as individuals need to view it as such, and report and share what we see happening in the world around us.