THE perils of social media, eh? You could probably write a decent 80,000-word PhD thesis on the topic.
Your dissertation could include chapters such as ‘How social media left me with egg on my face’ and ‘Is social media a dangerous tool for mobilising mob violence?’
At this stage, you can relax; you are only going to get a few hundred words on the subject, not a full-blown thesis.
One thing I have learned (from bitter personal experience) is that social media is – 1. Not very ‘social’. 2. Not very representative of the bona fide ‘media’.
In various places, I have seen ‘social media’ described as digital technology that allows the sharing of ideas and information, including text and visuals, through virtual networks and communities.
In no definition have I seen the words ‘everything on social media is true, please suck it up at your leisure and pleasure with no need to research ‘the truth’.
The following ‘observations’ (I prefer that word to ‘arguments’) will be random . . .
For example, let’s take the example of the danger of the ‘quick click’ response.
Many moons ago (in the pre-electronic age which this old hack still remembers well), we didn’t have to worry about giving ‘instant responses’.
We could root around, do some research and then give a considered response to an issue or an allegation.
When the new-fangled electronic mail (email) arrived in the office, one of my early blunders involved giving an instant reaction to a problem in work and firing off an incendiary response to a colleague.
My secretary at the time, the much-missed Kathy Holford, gave me a decent lecture on the need to research issues, pen a response . . . and then sit on it for 24 hours to allow perspective and context to do their work. It was advice I followed for the rest of my career.
Weather presenter Siân Lloyd has this week reaped the whirlwind of the dreaded ‘quick click’ response. She has issued a sincere apology to a north Wales pub after claiming her friends were ejected for singing in Welsh.
The 66-year-old took to her X (Twitter) account to voice her “utter mortification” over the “hostility and prejudice” that followed her initial remarks.
In now-deleted posts, she had described it as “scarcely credible such a frightful pub exists in Cymru”, following an incident at The Blue Bell in Conwy, where a group of people was asked to leave.
Her call for a boycott led to the pub’s tenants experiencing “xenophobic nationalist messages, calls to ruin our business, fake reviews and concerning hints at violence”.
The presenter retracted her statements after the landlord, Jared Dunn, clarified the situation. He said that a group of about 30 individuals had become “loud and intimidating to families and diners”.
Despite being repeatedly asked to cease their behaviour, they “aggressively carried on with chanting and singing”, Mr Dunn said.
The pub addressed the issue on social media, stating: ‘We don’t care whether you sing in English, Welsh, Chinese or Russian; if you’re asked to stop and you don’t, you’ll be asked to leave.’
Siân sought to calm the situation by releasing an extensive statement online, expressing regret for the mistreatment of pub staff.
Her statement said: “It goes without saying that I would urge people to get a grip and stop such hate behaviour immediately. I genuinely thought my original post was defending the Welsh language, and fairly tongue in cheek, hoping to start a conversation, hence the question mark and emoji.
“Clearly, I misjudged the situation, as well as the mood, and that did not happen. I was wrong and I stand corrected.
“What I was told about the incident now appears not to be the full story. At the end of the day, I was not there and should not have reacted so instinctively and defensively upon hearsay.
“For that, my sincere apologies. What kind of journalist am I?!”
One of the surprising things to emerge from all this is that Siân now describes herself as a ‘journalist’.
But I have come to realise that old hacks like me no longer have ownership of the word ‘journalist’.
In this world of mobile phones brim-full with assorted technology and apps, it appears that everyone can call themselves a journalist and happily reduce the currency value of the word.
Those of us who took part in recognised three-year apprenticeships or industry-recognised journalism courses no longer have ‘sole rights’ to be called journalists.
The average ‘Joe Journalist’ who sets himself up online today will not have completed his 100 words per minute shorthand test, exams in public administration and law and arduous theoretical and on-the-job training in writing impartial stories which are fair and accurate.
Probably, the most topical example of a social media journalist today is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson and has now been given a worldwide platform by Elon Musk’s X.
Yaxley-Lennon has spent much of this week moaning about the mainstream media (usually traditional newspapers, TV and radio outlets) ‘ruining’ his family holiday in Cyprus.
Close observation of Yaxley-Lennon’s week on X shows him doing red-faced, ranting selfie videos on the way to and from the pool and gym. In one video, he both rants and chews his way through a lamb dinner.
On Tuesday, I counted some 47 tweets from Yaxley-Lennon’s X account. That figure is not exceptional, and he’s been averaging close to 50 posts per day for the duration of his holiday.
I have a tip for Yaxley-Lennon – and it’s one which (as a responsible, loving dad) I always followed on family holidays.
The tip? Switch the phone off. Spend some quality time with your family (if you care so much about them).
PS: Don’t video yourself chewing food with your mouth open. It’s not a good look.
Twitter: @rlloydpr
Email: robertlloydpr@rlloydpr.co.uk
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