This week’s topic is on Public PLN and Media Literacy, after watching the videos and the readings this session, I have a few thoughts on the topic.

There are risks and benefits related to the many influences that social media can have on media personalities. Social media poses a risk to public personalities in that they must be more mindful of their actions and demeanor, particularly in public. To create the ideal identity and draw in more followers, they must possess a minimum level of reading between the lines and going with the trends. For instance, teachers must instruct appropriately to manage students’ behaviour in addition to their academic progress, or else their reputation would suffer. Similar to this, a lawyer must possess the necessary skills to effectively represent a client in court. However, a lawyer who represents the wrong side could also face ridicule or online abuse. The fact that this is his work and there might not be any good or bad in their sight should be noted.

In terms of getting negative replies or harmful responses on my media posts and content. I don’t believe I have any bad experience regarding this, but I have had some suggestions which I don’t view as negative. I think everyone has their own ideas and thoughts so I respect those that do speak up when they have their own thoughts that they want to share. This discipline can only go so far though as I will delete comments that are deemed too harsh from my comments and reply section. With these comment outliers there are still some inconsistency in comments people make on the internet and its only getting worse with those who have strong views on certain subjects and aren’t afraid of any backlash or criticism.

All groups are welcome to participate in the open dialogue about information, therefore occasionally the openness of some material may not satisfy everyone. As a result, people who believe that the information does not support their opinions will combine this discrepancy with their lack of media literacy to make the statement that media voices lack literacy. In the end, PLN learning would become simpler and more at ease if everyone of us appreciated media literacy.

Even though my insight is my own, others might argue otherwise. Therefore, I leave it up to my readers. Please leave your thoughts in the comments or message me directly.