Extra! Extra!

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    This morning, I knew I needed to check in on the recent air-quality situation impacting the Northeast United States as my parents live in Maryland. Doing this got me thinking, though, about how I even found out about the air-quality issue. I did not find out from watching ABC 27, which is our local Tallahassee News station as I just learned, or Good Morning America, or a news article; I found out about the air-quality issue from TikTok. 

TikTok! The newest and quickest way to acquire quick tips on how to hang your paper towels, watch hilarious videos, and see point- of- views of incidents and lived experience like never before (besides videos on Twitter and Facebook). Of course that is not exactly how TikTok is branded, but it is not far from the truth. Quite frankly, TikTok is a space where I get a lot of initial news, which is usually followed up by a news article or additional source if I am interested. I found out about this incredibly severe air quality issue from TikTok first and immediately followed it up with a phone call to my parents. 


We cannot take away the fact that TikTok provides an immense amount of data, including news, but that does not come without its flaws. Everything from inaccurate facts and TikTok bans have barred people from trusting the app. While it could be a space for celebration and instant information, we know that is not all that it is. 


Regardless, so many people learn new things from TikTok. NewsTok helps me keep track of what is going on in the world in a succinct, accessible, and free way. If we are trying to connect people or with people with tagging or mutual interests, as described as folksonomy, could spaces like TikTok and Reddit not cultivate this community (Petrucco, 2011)? Social Media can be a dangerous place and should definitely not be the only place for news, but it may be a starting point! What about you, where do you get your news? How do you find social media playing into the news, if at all?

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Comments

  1. Double MJune 9, 2023 at 6:05 PM

    I would like to expound on TikTok and just say social media in general does this. I don't have a TikTok account, yet I knew about the air quality because of Twitter. I have family living in CT and NYC so I definitely reach out to them. What puzzled me what this, why didn't any of them let us know what was going on? Or check in to let us know that they were okay.

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