Spiral of Silence (EOTO 2)

Under the First Amendment, United States citizens have the freedom of religion, freedom for religion, freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom to petition, and the freedom to assemble. However, even though we have the freedom to do all of these given in the Constitution, that does not mean that everyone does so. But why not say what you are thinking truthfully or doing what you honestly want to do?

This is called the Spiral of Silence theory. The Spiral of Silence theory is when people remain silent because of the fear that they do not agree with the majority’s opinion. An example of this theory is when someone wants to speak about their political views, but knowing they do not have the same opinions as the majority of people, they won’t speak about it. 

This theory was proposed by Elisabeth Noelle-Nuemann in 1974. Later on, results of the theory were looked into. It suggested that people feel as though speaking will make them feel isolated due to their differing opinions. Another result was that people may fear speaking their opinion for consequences worse than the concept of isolation.

Reflecting on this concept, it can be seen every single day in modern society. There are so many people that speak confidently about their opinions, but for those that do not have the confidence to speak up, they might fall into the Spiral of Silence. Has modern day society intensified this theory?

With the advancement of technology and current society, it can easily be argued that the Spiral of Silence has intensified. People are able to project their opinions through the internet without even seeing someone that they want to address with differing opinions.

Reference: https://masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/ ; https://www.businesstopia.net/mass-communication/spiral-silence-theory

Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo

Your online presence can showcase your life, your personality, and other demographic information. Social networks can present to your closest friends’ information such as your relationship status, what you like to do in your free time, where you are from, where you go to school, and who you surround yourself with. But strangers could see this information too. People that you have never met, people that you have met maybe only once in your life, and people that you wish to never see again nor know about what is going on in your life can see any information about you.

In the TedTalk “Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo,” explained exactly that. Juan Enriquez even mentioned that your online presence can last longer than your own body. Even after people die, their online presence remains. How does this make you feel?

Enriquez mentions that as online users, we should pay attention to what we are posting and focusing on online, but also brings awareness to the power of the internet in modern day. For instance, companies are able to look through databases to know who you are. Companies can even use information about you to target you through advertisements.

He even goes to mention Greek mythology and how some people represented rules that everyone should follow in their use of social media. For instance, he mentions that we shouldn’t look into the past of people that we are interested in and that we should not be too vain with our reflections. As an internet user, how will you act now? Will you follow Enriquez’s “rules?” How do you feel that your online presence will be alive long after you may be?

Reference: https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_your_online_life_permanent_as_a_tattoo?language=en

Social Media Online Footprint (Audit)

As a second-year college student in 2020, I have a large online footprint. Reflecting on all of the social media platforms I have an account on, I can count how many accounts I have on more than one hand. Ranging from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Spotify, and way more, it is eye-opening actually counting how many platforms I have an account on. Along with these accounts, I also have a website for a digital portfolio.

What I put on each of these platforms drastically differ. For Facebook, I am more professional, yet not as professional as I am on my LinkedIn account. For Twitter, I incorporate content that is more informal, but not as informal as I would put on Snapchat that I am “friends” with. Then with Instagram, it depends on the post in regard to what I put on them. Sometimes I can interact with friends on it being more informal or I can repost something on my “Instagram Story” to positively promote something such as my sorority or an organization I am involved with. Lastly, with Pinterest, this platform I use for inspiration, therefore I am pinning more light-hearted things.

For a visitor first gleaning at any of my social media accounts, they would instantly learn some very demographic information about me. For instance, they would easily learn that I am from Rhode Island, but go to a university in North Carolina. Depending on the platform, they would learn that I am involved in Phi Mu Fraternity in the Gamma Zeta chapter. However, depending on how much someone looks at any of my social media accounts, they can learn who my closest friends are, my dialect regarding if I am more formal or informal, and get a look into my personality.

Something that has been the center of discussion regarding social media has been if it makes people lonely, depressed, or isolated. My opinion? I think that it does, but it depends on the person. For someone that has a low self-esteem, it definitely can be isolating especially on Instagram. Seeing someone that is “living their best life,” it can be isolating and maybe even depressing, When self-comparison is involved, I believe that all of these feelings can be heavily involved.

Reference: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/

The Growth of Twitter

In this day in age, almost everyone has more than three forms of social media. As social media ranges from music streaming applications to applications where people can post images demonstrating their daily life to dating applications. There is a form of social media for everything you could think of. One social media platform that allows people to express themselves using text, videos, images, gifs, and more is Twitter.

Twitter was first created in 2006. From this time until 2007, it was in its exploratory phase, similar to most forms of communication. By March 2007, it began to ascend to the point where there were 60,000 tweets sent out per day. As it is hitting its peak, most people now have Twitter accounts.

What is the difference between then and now? As most people have Twitter accounts, the quick explosiveness of membership on the social media account is not as active. Most people have an account. The knowingness of Twitter is in the saturation stage. This application has become one of the main forms of social media that people use on a daily basis to communicate between people.

With the popularity of the app, there are many positive and negative factors about it. Starting with the positive factors, people have the ability to be very personal on the application. Each account is catered to their own brand. Another positive factor is that it is very trendy. People on the application keep up to date with everyday trends that are going on throughout the world and even have a section that speaks about what is trending.

However, there are negative factors as well. As mentioned earlier, by March 2007, there were over 60,000 tweets sent out a day. Over 10 years later, Twitter now sees 500 million tweets sent out a day. Therefore, it is easy for tweets to not be seen. For instance, if someone were to send out a tweet regarding something trending, it may not be seen due to the high volume of tweets at that given moment.

Therefore, this shows that Twitter is currently in the saturation phase or maybe even the climax regarding the Diffusion of Innovation theory. If users are currently sending over 500 million tweets a day, what does that mean in 10 more years? Will users’ tweet over a billion tweets a day? Will Twitter still be one of the main social media platforms?

Reference: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/twitter-launches ; https://www.boostability.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-twitter/ ; https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/