Social media is an ever changing form of communication and entertainment. 

Initially, social media was primarily used amongst young people to post selfies and give life updates, but this fact has undoubtedly changed. 

Today when you open social media, you can still see the everyday beach selfie, however,  you will also have access to a plethora of information on pressing news, like wars happening in foreign countries or laws being passed that affect the rights of your community. 

Many people’s complaint against social media being used as a source for serious news is that it isn’t fact checked, but all news sources, online or not, have bias and lies.

Social media forums allow people to access information without gate keeping or censorship.

A very serious event that has been on the forefront of social media is the attack on Palestine. Many Palestinian people felt that their situation was not being reported on properly so they began to report on it themselves.

A brave woman named Bisan Owda in October of 2023, when Palestine was being bombed catastrophically and it was very rare to see reports of the horrific results in western media, took to social media using apps like instagram and TikTok to post her reports. 

These clips, where you are able to hear bombs being dropped and children crying in the background of the videos, are what many people needed to see in order to begin wanting to get involved and help these people. 

When watching news channels like CNN and Fox News there is always a sort of disconnect of someone reporting on someone else. 

Yet online, when it is the victims of events or the family members of those affected, the stories  have a much more intense effect. 

Though there exists a definite risk of misinformation and misinterpretation floating around, there are also a myriad of educated professionals who take to TikTok, Instagram and X to help educate people on different topics. 

There are psychologists and therapists on TikTok that help people with coping mechanisms and lawyers who teach people how to read fine prints on documents so that they don’t get scammed. 

Nobody is denying that social media can be a breeding ground for fake news, but the modern day media serves as an accessible forum that can be appropriately used to spread education and awareness.