More than ever before, we live in a society plagued by bias. No longer can you find a news source that genuinely reports stories from an unopinionated, well-intentioned viewpoint. Everything done in the journalism and media industries is for a political, financial, or other premeditated reason. People, especially teenagers, are lost to find their news amongst a sea of harsh, opinionated media sources that each report on the same story but come up with wildly different messages about what it means or says about the world.
Although, one place does exist where people themselves can report their own opinions and ideas about numerous topics—YouTube. From my personal use with YouTube as a news source, I have been extremely educated, informed, and entertained by numerous channels ran by both intelligent individuals and large corporations. In fact, it’s a place where different ideas are actually encouraged and can readily be heard.
All of the big news companies are also on YouTube and post videos about the news; CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox, BBC, Bloomberg, Sky—they're no different from each other in that regard. YouTube itself is an easy and digestible platform that gives you the news painlessly without forcing you to read an entire article that otherwise would have the same message or content that a video does. Consuming news content in brisk and effortless ways is just the way the world is now. Modern-day technology has influenced people to prefer content in such a way. Personally, I think such a shift has actually allowed more people to be informed about current events than ever before. Because of platforms like YouTube, we are constantly up to date and never have to wait to see the current news.
On the downside, in such a society, people aren't forced to think critically about these subjects and events, but rather prefer just binging them like they would a show on Netflix. For some people, the news goes in one ear and out the other in the same way that content on lots of entertainment platforms are consumed nowadays. It can be dangerous for a generation to merely be consumers of news stories. People are at risk to accepting opinions of others that they see on videos without forming their own thoughts and judgements about them.
However, in my mind, none of this should be much of a concern. YouTube itself is not the one causing people to behave in such a way; it just serves as another medium for people to consume information, such as the news. People themselves should be mature and wise enough to form their own opinions about current events. Plenty of people are activists for their own ideas that they have formed and studied. Platforms like You Tube. Instagram, and Snapchat are just places where people can gain such information quickly, easily, and freely. At the same time, these platforms also provide a place for people where their individual voices can be heard, rather than being forced to listen to biased, bureaucratic opinions of large news corporations.
Thus, if such a world of extreme bias now exists, why not digest news on a platform that easily disseminates information and allows for all different viewpoints to be heard?
Joshua Hill, a student in Jon Pfeiffer’s media law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the above essay in response to the following question: It’s been reported that over half of teenagers get their news from YouTube. Should that be a cause for concern? How do you get your news? The class covers copyright and social media. Josh is an Integrated Marketing Communications and Multimedia Design major.
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