I tend to use social media for mainly two things, sports being the main focus point and
politics being the second. For me, staying up-to-date in those two arenas helps me feel more
connected to people I associate with both in my personal life and at work. Staying connected
to the political world is obviously important for being a responsible voter, which is
something that I hold near and dear. Taking this class has definitely opened my eyes at how
I approach situations, and that includes reading articles on social media and watching videos
as well. As previously learned, gathering evidence and weighing different outlooks on
positions is important before coming to a conclusion. Taking in account emotions, sound
reasoning, and judging whether or not bias is involved in what I’m seeing online is nothing
short of a life-changing outlook. Interacting socially, even in the most casual of settings, is
positively altered if critical thinking becomes a habit. Having healthy debates with friends
and family over relevant topics is simply good for the mind. I can definitely see how
exercising critical thinking could help become a more intelligent consumer. Making more of
an educated decision before making a large purchase is powerful. What agenda may some
companies have for pushing a certain product or idea? What information is being displayed
and advertised, and what is being left out? These are questions critical thinking can help
answer before making a purchase. Social media is utilized more and more every day to
communicate, advertise and influence our decisions. Critical thinking is imperative when
reviewing information on social media. To avoid miscommunication or bias arguments, it
important to apply the skills developed in this class to identify fallacies, bias and determine
a reasonable approach to a rational conclusion.
I use Facebook as my social media preference. I use my social media as a way to keep me
updated on what’s going on with family and friends. I rarely post anything but when I do, I
am always cautious about how my post could be construed. With the increase of employers
reviewing social media accounts of their employees, I avoid responding on anything political
or controversial. I am a believer that those types of discussions should be in person. As a
consumer, I use my critical thinking skills to evaluate ads and decide my approach.
I recently attended a workshop about social media. A law enforcement officer explained
acceptable things to post. He cautioned, criminals use social media to know when you are
not home, find out what major events have happened or learn your daily routine. They use
this information to their advantage to break into your house, scam you into giving money for
a fake charity or even hack your account. After this workshop, I encouraged my family to be
mindful of their postings. I reminded them to always evaluate and analyze things they may
come across while surfing through their social media accounts. Critical thinking not only
helps with sensible decision making but it can help keep us safe. Social media is a huge part
of daily life in 2019. It can be hard to tell what information is accurate online which is where
critical thinking becomes extremely important. We as consumers, need to take the initiative
to research what we see online, whether it be a news article or the hot new product of the
season, using critical thinking can enable us to realize whether an article is factual or not and
if that hot new product is really as good as it sounds. "If you read it on the internet it must
be true," this is a quote I've heard frequently and it is used sarcastically which implies that
the information online is not only incorrect but usually extremely far fetched. It's easier now
than it has been in the past to figure out if something online is true or not, we can usually get
an answer immediately simply by searching the topic online. This seems easy enough but
critical thinking can sometimes go out the door on social media. I do not use social media
like facebook, snapchat etc. I do however do read reviews and research when I'm looking to
buy items. By using the skills I have learned in this class, I would ask even more questions
and never just accept because the internet said so. We all have at some point have made
decisions based on manipulated information. We believed those who had no credibility and
wrote or spoke from ulterior motives. We were talked down to and were victims of
exaggeration, misdirection, and political spin. Sometimes, as we go about our busy lives, we
can accept these pieces of information as truths because it is only natural to do so. Going
forward, merely recognizing these untruths for what they are, can lead us to a higher quality
of critical thinking. You may read or hear something that sets off a red flag in your mind: Do
I agree with that? Is this to good to be true? Why might someone say that? This pure
awareness is something I will take away from this class. Don't just accept, Ask question! I
encourage anyone to do their research, not everything can be taken at face value. Social
media is used on a daily basis by millions of users. Personally, I primarily use Instagram and
Facebook for consumer purposes. Often, my wife accuses me of being gullible to ads. I am
prone to open postings that route me to their websites. Despite my wife’s teasing, I find
myself wasting valuable time looking into ads and purchasing items I don’t necessary need.
Through algorithms, social media gauges your interests and targets certain ads. Through this
class, I have been encouraged to identify these trends utilizing reason. I have begun
analyzing my reactions or emotions to these ads by asking questions and getting the opinions
of my wife or trusted advisers. A way that I have brought this up to some of my friends or
family members is by being vulnerable and honest about my challenges with these ads.
Opening the dialogue on my end tends to break down barriers. This allows me to share best
practices on how I have personally overcome this challenge. Throughout this semester, the
most impact week was the 2nd to 3rd week when we learned how to utilize decision making
with identifying reason, emotion and communication. I use social media every day. I look
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. I use the majority of it to stay connected to
family and friends. It is a great way to find family that you have lost track of and to
reconnect to friends from school.I also use social media for research. I look for reviews on
items that I am considering purchasing. I look for new places to shop or for dining
recommendations. I also look for job opportunities and review information on possible
employers.This class will build on the critical thinking I already rely on when using social
media. I avoid the postings and comments on politics. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but
I do not want to get in the middle of the disagreements that are all over social media these
days. I also don’t automatically assume all the news postings are accurate because so much
is fake or misleading.I encourage my mother to be very critical of what she reads on social
media on a regular basis. A large number of our conversations are about something she read
and automatically assumes is gospel. It concerns me how easily she is so often mislead by
the information that is out there. She is never offended when I point this out because it
reminds her to be cautious of what she reads. Unfortunately, as many of us do, I use social
media far too frequently. From Facebook to Instagram, it seems like a never ending cycle of
something to keep me busy while I am bored or procrastinating.
Personally, I try my best to stay out of political type debates especially ones presented on
social media platforms. However, you still encounter these types of posts on social media
everyday regarding things going on in society. It is very important to use critical thinking
skills and to have an open minded view to each issue. This way you are able to evaluate the
issue from each point of view and properly come your own conclusion based on your
research or findings.
I try to help my friends critically think in situations where their emotions might get the best
of them which blocks them from being able to properly critically think. I remind them to
think about the issue they are having from multiple views and not jump to conclusions with
no evidence to back up their biased conclusions. If I am also empathetic to how they are
feeling, most of my friends take to this well and are able to take a step back and think about
things open mindedly. I am a frequent user of Facebook both personally and professionally;
before I comment or post anything I stop and deicer if it is going to cause any debates or
offend anyone. I never discuss politics, religion or anything gender related as well as try my
best not to post anything that may be offensive to anyone. I am aware that I cannot
guarantee not offending anyone but, I consciously make an effort to try to not do so. I
especially do not want to draw any attention to myself in case my employer or a future
employer may be able to see any content I post. Politics I stay away from because politics I
believe is an opinion based stance and everyone has an opinion and most times there is no
right or wrong opinion.Encouraging others to critically think is something I do on a daily
basis. Working with adult students at an Adult School, most students need encouragement to
begin learning their critical thinking skills. There are times when a student comes to me and
is completely defeated by an Algebra problem however, when we sit down together and go
over each step and layout the equations for them I see the light bulb go off and in turn their
critical thinking skills have begun. Social Media is an ever-present forum in this new digital
age. The real-time accounting of things happening in the world is a huge change - no more
waiting for the 6 O'Clock news anymore. The biggest problem is trying to figure out what
news is "real news" and what news can be construed as "fake news." You see so much back
and forth and interpretation of news-worthy events you have to learn to be a critical thinker;
utilize the skills you have, and have learned about, to come up with what you think is the
real story. I think now-a-days you can truly decipher the "fake" news from the "real" news. I
think people have to remember numerous things when trying to decipher between both. One
has to realize that things are most often taken out of context and made for you to see what
the viewpoint is of a media outlet; you have to do your own homework, to see if that is what
was truly said or what may have just been a sound bite to catch your attention.Personally I
like to keep my views to myself; why you ask, it's my view - it's not my job to convince
someone how I feel or how they should feel. Everyone has their own way of reaching
conclusions and deciphering viewpoints. I think I would just want them to come informed
with talking points that are their own and not contrived from what someone else wants them
say/feel. Social media is very present in todays world. There are positive aspects of
technology and social media as well as many drawbacks. One of the bigger drawbacks to
social media is fake news. Anybody can post anything they want to without using logic or
truth. Because it is such a large platform, fake news can spread like wildfire, and before you
know it Johnny Depp was shot by a gang while attending the Grammy’s.
