Blogs and social media shares have become the norm in todays society, however, communication in the community and around the globe go way beyond this. An active PLN can have innumerable benefits some of which include, marketing of products, real-time communication with large groups of people, networking to achieve higher professional goals, and build virtual relationships that can allow you to gain life-long learning. However, these advantages also bring along several challenges.

Living in a wonderful country like Canada, many of us like to believe that racism is non-existent, or at least its presence is very low compared to other countries around the world. Many who have experienced racist acts would say that Canada is not immune; in fact, racism in Canada may be worse off than countries like the US because people here “think” we are doing okay. There is an idea that we are polite, tolerant, and an integrated society. This very thought process is what keeps us in denial of things like racism, discrimination, and stereotypical thoughts (CBC News: The National, 2014). In the interview with Harrison Mooney, Mooney discussed a number of occasions where he has experienced racists acts, some of which occurred through his presence on social media. He shared an example in which he is talking to a white individual over the phone and the responses of this individual for the questions being asked were racist or discriminatory. Because Mooney has a white name and sounds like white person, the white individual does not realize that his comments are being received by a colored person. After the phone call when this white individual searches “Harrison Mooney” on google or some social media platform, he realizes that his comments should not have been said and calls Mooney back to give clarifications over his actions. Mooney mentions that such things have happened six or seven times through his career and people just try to explain that they are not racists, but their upfront actions prove otherwise.

One of the best ways to minimize bias in our consciousness is by integrating ourselves in a diverse group of people. The more integrated we are within different groups, we begin to realize that we are all individuals with similar goals, hopes, and way of life, however, the only thing that sets you apart is your cultural identity. This difference should not be a setback, instead, it is an opportunity to learn more about the diverse cultures around the world and understand how unique we really are. When we are around a diverse group of people, our chances of keeping stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination out of mind become easier, making ourselves better people, creating a more friendly environment, and expanding on our knowledge with each others assistance.

In order to create a successful PLN, I believe that one has to be passionate about what they are bringing to the audience. A person’s identity will become apparent if their passion, dedication, excitement, and most importantly, honesty, can be seen through their work. Additionally, the posts you end up liking or sharing also reveal more about who you are as a person and what interests you may have beyond the topics that you put out into your network.

Being active on a social media platform can get you a lot of attention. Much of this attention may not be wanted. I personally like to create professional and personal boundaries on my social media handles; however, this may not be the case for everyone (e.g. influencers, celebrities). Even on my personal account, I don’t share every detail regarding my life as I like to keep many things private. If I get away with keeping a majority of details in my life private, there are still technologies that can view and track my digital footprints. A project named #Tracked is described by Meikle (2016) in which data sets from two participants was obtained. These data contained information regarding emails, phone and text message points, bank account details, web browser histories, online shopping, tax and police records, flight details and Facebook accounts. Although I have not seen how much data is being tracked regularly through my presence on the internet, I can say that I have been surprised many times when I browse something on google on my phone (in a private window) and that item appears on all my networking sites!

 

References:

CBC News: The National. (2014, November 12). Our Canada: Are We Racists?. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ET8KyiY_Nc

EDCI_338. (2020, November 8). EDCI 338 A01 – Harrison Mooney. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKNQpz0RrI&feature=youtu.be

Meikle, G. 2016. Convergence and the Limits of Citizen Journalism. Chapter 4 in: Social Media – Communication, Sharing and Visibility. Routledge.