Unit- 3 Media and Society Aulia Maharani Karli
Read the following blog about how social media influence and control people’s
lives causing them to get distracted in the society.
What comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘Social Media’? Perhaps, some
people think the social as the media that makes them able to meet and communicate
with people around the world. While some others think that, it is the channel that gives
them the chance to send and receive information. Others might see it as the tool to get
many updates from people who we follow and a part of a new marketing strategy.
Nowadays, social media seems like a big part
of our life. When you have no reply to your
text from you friend, you can greet them on
Facebook. When you want to listen to music
or watch a music video from your favourite
singer you can go to YouTube. When you
just wake up and open your eyes, you don’t
have to walk outside to get the newspaper,
just take your phone and scroll your Twitter
timeline then you’ll get the information. Blog
and Forum are also types of social media
because they allow you to share “what you
think” about articles, pictures, videos and so on. Social media not only allows the users
to share about their profession, major of study, works and company, addresses, political
views and religion, but also allows them to find a job and to find the employees required.
In fact, everything looks and feels easier to do with social media.
But from the examples above, I have a question in my mind. “If everything looks and
feels easier to do with social media, isn't something strange? Isn't society extremely
dependent on social media? How strongly can social media influence and control
people’s lives?” This question leads me to recall a very interesting case in Indeonesia
that happened about some years ago.
In August 2008, there was a woman who
was known by Indonesian people as Prita
Mulyasari. Her case began when she
wrote about her disappointment about
the services of a Hospital in Jakarta. She
wrote everything about the hospital and
the bad services that she got from the
doctors, nurses and administration staff. Then she sent a message to her friends on
the mailing list. Actually, she just tried to remind her friends to be more selective in
choosing the hospital and to be more careful in accepting many kinds of services. But,
her message became a big problem after her friend shared it to a website (The People’s
Forum) which so many read and commented about the issue.
In September 2008, the management of the hospital reported Prita Mulyasari for the
bad news she has spread about the hospital. The management of the hospital claimed
for material loss of about Rp.161 million as a replacement for clarification in national
newspapers and Rp.100 million for immaterial losses. She wasn’t only to pay for the
hospital losses but she was also detained in May 2009. After 8 months she went through
the inspection and verification process and was convicted by the court for violating
the law about using the ICT (Information and Communication Technology). This case
got rapidly spread among Indonesian people. As common issues, there are always pros
and cons. Although the Indonesian people didn't justify what Prita had done against the
hospital, most of them really cared about her life and her condition and tried to help
her, at least to pay the amercement.
The first Facebook account which was made by some people is (https://www.facebook.
com/KoinPeduliPrita). They were spreading “Bantu Bebaskan Prita” or “Help Free
Prita” among Indonesian People and approached them to help Prita by collecting the
coins. It didn’t take a long time. Many volunteers, social workers, activists, students
and even artists came together to help her. They were collecting many coins from
people on the street, office, and even an entertainment centre. Some singers also held a
charity concert to help her. In December 2009, the campaign was concluded and they
succeeded in collecting the coins to help Prita, about Rp. 825 million. The money was
extremely worth it for Prita, although she still had to go through the period of detainees.
However, the money was very helpful for her not only to pay the amercement but also
for her life, considering she had two kids to bring up.
I’m not trying to spread bad news about my country or discredit someone or some
institutions. I am just trying to make you believe that social media has the strength to
influence and control people’s lives. Prita’s case clearly explains to us that social media
were able to make people’s life get worse or get better. It certainly does not mean that
we need to stay away or become anti-social media. People are stronger than social
media because we can easily think before we act and think before we speak. There is
nothing to be worried about if we are wise when we share something on social media.
Aulia Maharani Karli
A. Find the words from the text that have the following meanings.
a. a personal or corporate website- Blog
b. a job requiring expertise in a particular field- profession
c. a feeling of sadness- disappointment
d. put under custody- detained
e. found guilty- convicted
f. breaking or disregarding rules or system- violating
g. advantages and disadvantages- pros and cons
h. a non-statutory monetary penalty- amercement
B. Answer these questions.
Answer:
Social media can be defined as a collective term for websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in the building of virtual networks and communities.
Answer:
Social media has been an integral part of modern life as it helps people to communicate with people around the world, gives them the chance to send and receive information, and get many updates from people following and being a part of a new marketing strategy.
Answer:
Facebook permits one to keep in touch with faraway family and friends, share photos and information, and get the news updated. On YouTube, people can watch and share videos
Answer:
A blog is an informational website where a person writes regularly about recent events or topics that interest him/her. It can be beneficial to us as it allows us to share “what we think” about articles, pictures, videos and so on.
Answer:
No, it wasn’t. She just tried to remind her friends to be more selective in choosing the hospital and to be more careful in accepting many kinds of service
Answer:
Prita's message became a big problem after her friend shared it to a website (The People’s Forum) which so many read and commented about the issue.
Answer:
She was convicted by the court for violating the law about using the ICT.
Answer:
The purpose of the campaign “Bantu Bebaskan Prita" was for collecting the money to help Prita so that she could pay the amercement.
Answer:
People are stronger than social media as they can easily think before they act and think before they speak.
Critical thinking
a. Does social media have positive impact in the society? Discuss.
Social media has positive impact in the society. The platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. have assisted us to connect ourselves to family members, friends and relatives though they are in different corners of the world. These social networking sites support people to share pictures and videos, and communicate with their close ones. This makes our relationships stronger and brings families together in a way that was impossible in the past.
Professional websites and official organization web -pages create numerous chances to explore the world, learn new facts and read the newest survey results, reports, etc. There is a remarkable increase in online learning and build a strong profession around it. It is interesting to mention that the person who involves in businesses can be benefited from social media, too. Online promotions are less costly than consistent ads on TV and newspapers. On the other hand, they give a chance to reach the bigger audience and find active customers across the world. Through interaction with customers and feedbacks given by them, business persons can understand the status of market and embrace new strategies to meet the customer's tastes and demands. Nowadays, e-commerce and digital marketing are popular.
Social media allows the users to share their thoughts and views, create their own content and receive the latest information and news. Also, finding a job and hiring the employees required, using social networking are in easy reach. In fact, everything looks easier to do with social media.
b. How do you compare virtual communication and face-to-face communication?
Communication comprises a sender, message and recipient. This process will be completed when the receiver comprehends the sender's message. To make conversations more comfortable and convenient people use either of the methods- virtual and face-to-face.
In virtual communication a recipient doesn’t need to be present. It lets us talk to people no matter what location they’re in. It is more likely to be non-verbal. Using virtual communication helps us to keep in touch with the people even if they are busy and not able to meet up. Various social networking sites and apps are common platforms to have virtual communication. It’s easier to organize and share all of the information we want when we communicate virtually.
Face-to-face communication needs both the sender and the recipient to be present, and response immediately. When we talk to somebody face-to-face, we can actively notice their level of attention in our conversation. It helps us build personal relationship and socialize. It prevents our communicating skill to be rusty. With our body language and tone, we can express what we want to talk about very precisely. Message can be easily understood by the concerned parties as both verbal and non-verbal ways are used in face-to-face communication. It is better for illiterate person as they don't understand written messages. Conversation on the telephone or cell phone and chatting through internet are oral communication but cannot be termed as face to face communication.
B. Complete the following sentences using the correct prepositions of direction: to, toward, onto, or into.
b. She ran away from home when she was eighteen.
c. Raindrops ran down the windscreen making it difficult to see the road.
d. Hemanta put the plate onto the table and began to eat his dinner.
e. The frightened deer disappeared into the forest.
A. Fill in the gaps with appropriate words/phrases from the text.
Comments
Post a Comment