Social Media And Rational Social Conversations Essay

Social Media And Rational Social Conversations - Essay Example The rapid spread of such trending hashtags as #Gamergate portrays the extent of the damage potential of the various social media. The use of social media has therefore made it impossible for people to have rational conversations, especially on controversial matters as the discussion below portrays. Unlike the traditional media, social media lack gatekeepers. Gatekeeping is a vital aspect of media, which often serves to minimize harms caused by media contents. Televisions, radios and newspapers have professional editors and sub-editors who eliminate any form of errors thus enhancing rational communication of any form of the social issue including those that may elicit emotions (Hoffmeister 77). In case of live discussion on such media, the existence of a moderator ensures that the guests maintain rational conversations on air. Social media, on the other hand, lack moderators. This implies that they provide everyone in the entire society with an equal opportunity to share their views on a social issue. Maintaining rational thought on such emotional issues as sexism and racism among other forms of social discrimination is always difficult. The aggrieved persons will always feel the urge to retaliate. The social media provide effective platforms for such retaliation. The social media, for example, enables people to maintain a degree of anonymity while contributing to such vital social issues (Willard 54). Numerous users of the various social media use pseudonyms. This way, they can easily trade abusive words and even threaten others with actual violence without revealing their actual identity. Lack of actual identity on the social media, for example, enhances the development of irrational conversations on the numerous social media. Key among the functions of the media is agenda setting and information of the public opinion. The success of an opinion relies on the influence that the originators of such opinions enjoy. The  mainstream media enjoys immense influence on their audiences since they have systematic ways of censuring their conversations.