Friday, May 1, 2020

Teenage Targets

In the midst of a Pandemic, we run into the issue of false information being spread, especially through social media. Fear sparks this bad information to run rampant on social media, where people of all age are consuming it. Although news articles are constantly posting data and need-to-know information about the virus, fact, and data, we still get to a point where we don't know what to believe. The World Health Organization (WHO) is taking advantage of social media to debunk misinformation on social media, and their targets? Teenagers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/12/coronavirus-outbreak-tik-tok-memes
This makes sense, since teenagers are the ones consuming social media the most. WHO has taken to two popular social media platforms - TikTok and Snapchat- to stop the spread of the misinformation. They have decided to target these two apps because the age range of users on this app tend to be much younger than other social media platforms. It is important to teach the younger generation on how to best protect themselves, and with all of their free time being devoted mostly to social media, what better place to advertise the truth about this virus?
I think taking to TikTok and SnapChat is brilliant. If Coronavirus, COVID-19, or pandemic are mentions in the video or the caption of a TikTok, a link is automatically tacked on to the bottom of the video, which will take you to information about COVID-19, provided by the World Health Organization. Since teenagers are spending so much time on social media, I don't see a better or more proactive way of getting them the truth about how to stay healthy during a pandemic. Not only does WHO provide the link, they also have their own page, dedicated to "Myth busting" the false information being spread around on social media. Taking such large platforms that are primarily young people is a great example of using social media the right way.
https://news.yahoo.com/targets-teens-social-media-debunk-virus-myths-135451291.html

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Teenage Targets

In the midst of a Pandemic, we run into the issue of false information being spread, especially through social media. Fear sparks this bad i...