Generation Like: Reflection and Critical Response

 Empowerment- a word you hear a lot when kids talk about social media. Does social media really empower people?

Earlier this week in class, we watched a documentary known as "Generation Like" that addressed the subject of advertising and entertainment in the media. Throughout the documentary, we had to chance to have a further insight on the world of social networking and the relationship between the producers and consumers of social media, as well as outside influences used to target and appeal towards a specific audience. One of the main points that was addressed several times throughout the documentary was one of "self-empowerment" and the possibly that social media can actually empower people's daily decisions online.

"Your consumer is your marketer"

When one is confronted with social media, they automatically become apart of a much larger aspect of the world that technology can identify us with. As a means of becoming more socially and culturally aware of the world around us, we take on the responsibility of being apart of the social media/networking community worldwide. How do we take part in this you may ask? What do we do exactly that makes us so important and essential to social media? What links us? One of the most common uses for social media today is advertising, as a means of reaching a broader audience and allowing companies to engage with their consumers on a higher and effective level. The worldwide web contains a never ending list of ways to interact with each other and broadcast people's identities. This could be through simply sharing a photo, a song of interest, or advertising yourself on websites such as YouTube or Twitter. When it all comes down to a simple answer, we use social media to advertise who we are along with our beliefs and values. This sense of empowerment comes from within and is branched out to a much wider audience.

Tyler Oakley is an international worldwide web sensation who advertises himself by sharing his interests, thoughts, and basic identity through commonly known websites such as YouTube, Twitter, etc. His audience reaches out to him by watching these videos and possibly even being inspired by what he does. At times, Internet sensations such as Tyler are offered the chance to sponsor certain companies, such as Doritos, as a means of reaching out to a larger audience and putting their name out there. Looking at this situation from the YouTuber's side, it gives Tyler Oakley a sense of responsibility knowing that has the power to influence people's thoughts. Producers often use this pipeline of connected pieces as it allows their audience to market the product even more due to it's recognition.

In conclusion, the point that I'm really trying to get across is that social media most definitely has the power and judgment to empower us. We put ourselves out there to share our thoughts and values with a larger community, in this case, advertising our interests and beliefs. We feel the responsibility from within to create online identities and profiles with the intention of reaching out to a much larger audience; a particular audience with specific interests. Social media uses it's users as their marketers, as they will be the ones who will ultimately make a identity out of them, provide personal feedback, and eventually influence other members in the media.