BLOG3 – How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved?

How does social media engage communications?

Social media acts as a many to many networked environment that allows people to move away from traditional one to many/top down structures for mass communication, like public broadcasting, newspapers, and magazines (Clark et al., 2011). Social media engages communications by allowing the everyone to form around shared issues, regardless of location.

How does social media challenge communications?

However, social media challenges communications because it can easily become a “forced container” of integration, rather than a space of true inclusion. In Moore (2016) argues that inclusion can fail when systems prioritize integration without belonging. If we do not intentionally design our digital spaces to be inclusive, they risk replicating the same inequalities that are present in the psychical world.

Is it inclusive?

True inclusion is a voluntary community. We can force people to follow account, but we cannot force them to engage. My thinking has evolved to realize that inclusion is not a final destination where we can reach 100% representation all the time. But more so a continuous journey.

Does your PLN amplify the views of others?

PLN amplifies the views of others by through a domino effect, sharing the messaging of marginalized voices to benefit the entire community. Moore (2016) likens this phenomenon to a bowling metaphor, a professional bowler achieves a strike by hitting the outside pins to create a domino effect. Spreading the messaging throughout the entire community.

Where/how does disinformation play a role?

Having a public PLN requires a constant risk assessment. We currently live in an age of disinformation, where the public is often better informed about celebrity gossip than their own constitutional rights (Clark et al., 2011). In digital spaces, disinformation is sown using kettle logic, where there are multiple arguments to defend a point, but all are inconsistent with each other.

The policies of employer social media communication expectations.

According to Clark et al. (2011), many employers have strict social media policies that reduce free speech. Navigating these policies requires a commitment to practicing an ethical framework that respects human dignity. Even if it aligns against an employers interest.

References

Clark, J., Aufderheide, P. (2011). A New Vision for Public Media. In: Jansen, S.C., Pooley, J., Taub-Pervizpour, L. (eds) Media and Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119796_5

Moore, Shelley. One Without the Other : Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=4832579.