I only use one social media platform and there is so much information on both sides of every
topic that it is almost impossible to read all of them and then make your on conclusion.
What I do is I read an article before I even think of sharing it instead of just reading the
headlines. And then I like to go and do my own research about every article that I read and
share. When I am talking to someone about politics, I do my best to not let my emotions and
personal opinions get into the discusion unless I am asked how I feel about something or
what my thoughts are about it. I do state a lot of facts to support my own view point. But
facts can not be disputed no matter what someone believes. Facts are facts. In my
experience, when you try and get someone to think more critically about any topic and what
they know or what new information that they find goes against what they already believe or
what they want to believe is true, they can not help but get offended. They feel like I am
trying to convince them that their current beliefs are wrong and they need to change what
they believe. That is very hard for most people to truly accept. There are a number of social
media platforms that I am involved in. Each platform has its own advantages and
disadvantages in equal measure. Nowadays people spend most of their time in social media;
some for good intentions while others with malice. Social media platforms are a source of
information, recreation, advertisement and job opportunities among other benefits. It can be
useful or harmful depending on how the user utilizes it. Critical thinking plays a major role
in determining how one takes advantage of social media.
I have a number of social media accounts which I use for different purposes. These accounts
are basically used for passing some information directly or indirectly to someone or a group
of people. Some of these platforms provide an arena where discussions take place. People
are able to air their opinions regardless of their location. These messages could be seen by
anyone in the world by the click of one button. Critical thinking has enabled me to sieve and
thoroughly weigh what message, either verbally, written or pictorial, I post in my accounts
for public view. Bearing in mind that in these platforms people don’t have physical contacts,
whatever we put there reveals everything about us.
Critical thinking has enabled me to choose correctly what debates to indulge myself in.
Some conversations can be discriminative to a group of people who may not take it kindly.
Moreover, I have learnt the skill to solve problems and conflicts through critically
brainstorming on the best response and action to take in order to solve a situation. The kind
of response I give determines how the receiver will react. Critical thinking has generally
enabled learn how to associate with all kinds of people regardless of their nature. We've
learned a lot about critical thinking which in turn has helped our communication skills
tremendously. Learning to look at something in a different light also can help fine tune a
message one is trying to convey. It allows you to be more precise with your thoughts and
actions which can help tremendously on social media. Most things online are just text, so to
understand the tone or context of a post or share simply based off of the words on the screen
you're probably out of luck. When we interact with so many others on social media we can
get a slight look into how someone else may see the world depending on the content that
they put out there. Using critical thinking to understand those around us and how they react
to a certain situation can allow us to fine tune what we say and how we say it, so that there
is no confusion in the message conveyed. I would tell others that me encouraging them to
think critically as well isn't an attack on their current beliefs, it's just saying that there are
other ways to look at things and you have to understand there are other people's point of
views that should also be respected. I typically use social media to keep in touch with distant
family and friends. I see a lot of debates on social media and over the course of these five
weeks, I learned different approaches that could be used on with these debates. Whether its
about politics or just everyday life, I've learned from this course that its important to use
critical thinking skills. You have to have tough skin when you’re on social media especially
when discussing politics. People are more malicious and do not care about insulting you
with mean words on social media. I’ve learned not to give a biased opinion, but one that is
based solely on facts and can be proven to be true. I think my social skills have improved as
well. I’ve never been shy, but I’ve learned more ways to engage in a conversation with
strangers and how to see things from others’ perspective. There are lots of vendors on social
media that are only in the business to make money and do not truly care about their
consumers. As a consumer I've learned to use inductive argument to determine whether or
not a product is worth purchasing. For example, vendors selling skin care products can
assume because a product has a great affect on one consumer that the same affect is probable
to happen with all other consumers. Using my critical thinking skills as a consumer would
also help me to decipher whether or not a product is a good purchase for me or not. I could
encourage others to think critically by using myself for example and stating that I didn’t
really start learning until I realized I don’t know everything and it helps to listen to others.
Sometimes when you take an approach of using yourself as an example, people won’t feel so
attacked and may be more prone to take heed to your advice. We live in the technology era
were social media has taken over our lives and it is very important that we use skills learn in
this class to make the correct decisions, a few months ago there was an active shooting
situation in my city and the first reports the community received were from social media
several reports with different information that went from a few people shoot to sixty people
shoot, when things like this happen is better to stay calm and try to find good sources and
not act on the first thing that we see or hear , it is important to know that not everything that
comes out is either right or wrong but we need to be educated enough to make the right
decisions we can share with others the benefits of using critical thinking more as an advice
in order for people not to feel offended if we work on letting them know the benefits of
using critical thinking and not just pointing the errors of not doing it we should be
successful. Social Media is definitely the new wave for the young generation and some of
the new generation. I use social media for finding old friends and keeping in touch with old
and new friends that I may not see often. I think I can apply critical thinking and
Deductive/Inductive arguments to information I encounter on social media. Critical thinking
can be applied when commenting/communicating with a person or on a persons post about
certain things that may be serious or not so series but giving it some thought from all angels
before hand to not offend or jump to conclusions.
Critical thinking and Politics or being a consumer goes hand in hand in my opinion. Politics
can be a touchy subject and I feel we should always think critically before indulging in such
conversations or on social media because every ones political views, in my opinion are
private and also the persons opinion but people will and do get offended and can lash out at
others for simply having an opinion. I also think, people should not force their views on
politics or on products on others if not wanted.
The way I feel I could encourage others to think critically without offending anyone would
be to tell them to always put themselves in the shoes of the person they are communicating
to and think on both sides of the situation. That will make you think more critically and find
a way to give feedback without offending the person or persons. Although, social media can
be a great tool it can also be a hindrance. Since taking this class I will know how to use
critical thinking on social media. I will know to always fact check. A lot of information on
social media is not true. I will also know when and how to express my opinions effectively.
I think my use of critical thinking may affect my social interactions like those related to
politics. I think that now oppose to before I am more prepared for conversations of this
gravity. I know how to be open minded to other opinions. I will also be able to spot fallacies.
But, most importantly I will know how to communicate my arguments effectively without
offending anyone or speaking incorrectly. When it comes to be a consumer, I now
understand a little more about why things happen and how to communicate if I am unhappy.
I feel like learning about the fallacies also helped me become a better consumer because
now I can identify different ploys that an advertisement may use. Lastly, I think everyone
should use critical thinking. In order to encourage others without offending anyone I may
say thinks like “think about the other point of view” or “think deeper”. I feel like then I
would have many more well-rounded conversations. Social media is a powerful way to
communicate your thoughts and your feelings. Sometimes we let ourselves express our selfs
in different ways but we might lose track of what we are trying to say. When it comes to
politics A discussion will sure start a controversy and you must be prepared to communicate.
What i have learned in this class is how to distinguish truths from myths. We might hear a
store from this person that heard it from another and as it goes the store might not be the
same as it was told. Social media is a powerful way to communicate and you have to be
prepared to use your critical thinking skills. Be ready to provide evidence or proof of what
you are trying speak about. Sometimes we might find people that they live off of social
media conversations and have no idea what they are talking about. This time in day we must
be ready and be opened minded to learn how to distinguish things.
