Social media platforms have become powerful spaces, not only for identity formation, but also for community building and political activism. Though in light of all of those good sounding things, there have also been an introduction to a lot of major risks to autonomy and privacy. What curates our feeds is algorithms, and that not only determines what content we see, but also the parts of our identity that are made visible for all to see. an example of this would be the activists who use Twitter to boost their voices though they are also vulnerable to things such as harassment, surveillance, or having their platforms being taken away. The nature of social media is double edged. There is a sense of empowerment while there is also a sense of constraint. Both makes it crucial for the analyzation of politics of said digital spaces.
A key point that I found from this week’s learning materials is that social media users on rare occasions have control fully over how their identity is represented online. Rather, set platforms, monetize in shape these identities through data extraction and design choices. With futures as media professional professionals, there is an important thing to ask: who is the one that is benefiting from the current structures, and what are the changes that can be made to make sure that social media will support democratic participation rather than sabotaging it?
