Article of the Week Impressions 3/6/15

During the Article of the Week gallery walk I learned so much from so many people, but something that really stood out as a theme in a couple of articles, is that social media can have a HUGE impact on what’s “big” in the news and can turn nothing into something.

     Athziry had an article about the impact social media can have on suicide rates. It is shown that viral suicides result in higher suicide rates amongst teens. This is like the posting of suicides on YouTube, and suicide notes/goodbye videos on FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This has led teens on the verge of committing suicide to take that jump and actually kill themselves which is what is leading to the higher rates of people killing themselves. If people weren't posting this on social media, then I'm sure suicide rates wouldn't be so high, and a lot less people would be convinced to commit suicide themselves. Social media should never be used to show or promote negative things (even though a lot of people do use it for that reason) and if people weren't posting suicides, I'm sure less people would think it was just okay to actually kill themselves. When someone posts a suicide note or video, any teen who might be depressed could find that relatable. Who knows what they've been through and what they can take. Seeing others doing it, it looks okay, and it makes it seem like the idea is less spontaneous and crazy. Though, these suicide pictures and videos are doing more harm than good, and leading to huge news on suicide rates.

     Citlalli's article also was about how social media is being used to convince young girls to join ISIS. A girl named Aqsa recently convinced three girls from Scotland to join ISIS, and that with her help, they could successfully get to Turkey, and live a better life as an ISIS bride. It is clear to most people that ISIS is a dangerous terrorist group that is only making people's lives miserable, yet this girl is using the power of social media to convince people to leave their families and practically join forces with evil. Aqsa, being the bride of a man part of ISIS herself, posted pictures over her Tumblr blog of executions carried out by ISIS and also posts tutorials for young girls looking to be ISIS brides themselves. She has tutorials on everything from how to get a flight to Turkey, where to stay, who to talk to, where to travel, etc. She recently DM'd (Direct Messaged) the three Scottish girls and convinced them that joining ISIS would be a great idea, and that they would be able to live a much better life as an ISIS bride. If Aqsa had not created this social media account where she tried to convince and pressure girls into joining ISIS, girls would be a lot safer and in a lot better of a position than if they were to join the terrorist group that has shown that they are not afraid to behead anyone if they feel the need. Social media is what is causing this whole situation to occur, and these Scottish girls would be much, much safer if they would've never seen this Tumblr blog.

I commented on Athziry's Blog, Marisa's Blog, and Leanna's Blog.