Module 4 Communication in Digital

Age
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. assess their role and function on social media through buzz sharing;
2. identify the roles and functions of people on social media through examples;
3. identify fake news through tips provided on evaluating online news; and
4. value awareness on effective social media communication and informed news
consumption; and
5. create an advocacy video on a relevant and timely communication issue.

Activity Examine the following image below and share your thoughts to the class.

Analysis

Guide questions:

1. Give a sample scenario concerning fake news.

2. What is your stand on the emergence of fake news in social media nowadays?
3. How can we stop the spread of fake news in social media?
4. Provide a concrete solution or possible ways on how we can prevent the spread of fake news.

Answer:_______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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 Abstraction

Lesson 1: Social Media Communication

Introduction:

Social media is a powerful communications medium, with widespread influence over cities as well as
remote areas. However, it is only part of the digital revolution that we are witnessing. Digital
transformation has not only influenced businesses and made the world more accessible, but it has also
changed the way we communicate.

According to Oberlo, as of 2019, there are 3.2 billion social media users all around the world, which is
about 42% of the Earth’s population. In addition, there are roughly 4.5 billion internet uses across the
world today. These statistics are proof of the growing dominance of digital media in our daily lives.

Social media now complements many parts of our lives. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many other
social networking sites allow users to share and interact with online content and to connect with like-
minded people. Its strengths -- rapid dissemination and amplification of content and the ability to lead
informal conversations -- make it a powerful tool to use in a professional context.

How social media Effects communication?

Since the proliferation of social media, the ways we communicate have changed. The concept of
communication had a lot of limitations to it; but with the rise of social media, the world is getting closer.
Social media has not only found new ways of communication but also has reshaped the old ones. The
rise of social media has changed the world’s perspective on communication. The increase in the speed
of communication has created a sense of urgency and a need to share things among people, provided
an inside perspective of faraway places, and made digital messages more personal. The traditional ways
of communication have now been replaced by modern ones. Much like everything, this concept also has
two sides. One is an optimistic side and the second a pessimistic one.

Positive Effects of Social Media on Communication

While analyzing the benefits social media has on communication. First and the most significant benefit
that comes across is the increase in the speed of communication. The significant flaw of the traditional
communication system was its slow nature, and social media seems to be a solution for the same.
Messages are getting delivered within split seconds. Important notifications, instructions are also
conveyed to multiple people within an eye blink. People with similar interests are coming together to
form groups for a purpose. According to surveys, 39% of respondents felt closer to their friends
because of social media while 26% felt they had more friends because of social media.
Representatives of various cultures also come together without any boundaries or constraints. Social
media helps random people meet each other by initiating the conversation.
Social media is not limited to Whatsapp and Facebook only. In the last couple of years, Instagram
has been the most used mobile application ahead of Whatsapp and Facebook on the list. Moreover,
various applications are giving a platform to people for showcasing their talent. Talented people from the
rural and remote areas which were untouched or never noticed are now seeking peoples’ attention.
Many arts and artists are gaining popularity with the use of social media. Different ways of doing
different things are being invented and spread. Many singers have gained popularity through YouTube
and parallel social networks, and it has been a turnaround in their fortunes.

Negative Effects of Social Media on Communication

Now let’s just have a look at the cons too. Communication was the main purpose of the invention of
social media. The purpose seems to be fulfilled from outside, but in the hindsight, the soul of the
communication seems to have lost. The speed of the communication might have been increased, but the
reliability of the same has received a massive downfall. The amount of fake news getting spread around
is increasing day by day. In this era of technology, both online and offline conversations are dominated
by social media interactions. With easy person-to-person access by using social media, people are
becoming lazy. Studies show that 11 percent of adults prefer to say home on weekends and
make posts on Facebook instead of going out and acquiring real-life experiences. People are
losing interest in meeting others in person.

Chances of good and meaningful conversations are reducing day after day. The short versions of
messages such as kk, ttyl, cus, tc are ruining the beauty of the language and not doing justice to
grammar and syntax also. The habit of overusing social media also leads to a decrease in one’s
informative skill. The interactions on social platforms can be sometimes misleading and not specific
causing major misunderstandings between people. Also, people get used to sitting alone which is
decreasing or degrading their creativity and hugely affecting their thinking ability.

Social Media Affecting Social Skills

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter might have given us a lot of online friends. But what about those whom
we live everyday with? The longer distances might have been cut down, but the people close to each
other are now going far apart. People are much more interested in communicating with their Facebook
friends instead of the real ones. The face to face communication is the primary and most important
aspect of general communication but it has lost its importance because of social media, resulting in the
degradation of moral values in society. The actual feelings have all become abstract now. The attention
of people towards real and actual things is decreasing while their attraction towards imaginary things is
increasing in the same proportion. A man who was once known as a ‘social animal’ has now become a
‘social media animal’. The over-dependence on social media is increasing day by day. Talking speed is
replaced by typing speed. People are losing their natural tendencies and behaving like slaves of
technology.
With the increasing globalization and industrialization, we need to communicate faster; we need to be
precise as far as time is concerned. These are the main reasons why we cannot ignore social media. If
used within limits, social media is indeed a blessing for mankind. Regulation and restriction on the use
of social media can lead us towards much faster, smoother, effective and reliable communication. On the
other hand, if the misuse of social media continues the way it is, the heart of the concept of
communication will be broken which might never be fixed again.

Sub-lesson 2: Media Reports and Fake News

What is fake news?

Fake news is defined as news stories that are false. The story is fabricated and there are no verifiable
facts, sources or quotes.

Fake news can be propaganda that is intentionally designed to mislead the reader, or may be designed
as “clickbait” written for economic incentives. Think about advertisements, or writers that profit on the
number of people who click on their story.

The Dangers of fake news

Fake news stories comes with many disadvantages. Just how harmful are little lies? A little bit of fake
news is nothing new, right?

Wrong. The ability to distort reality has taken an exponential leap forward with this new trend: “deep
fake” technology.

It’s possible to create audio and video of real people saying and doing things they never said or did.
Deep fakes are more realistic and resistant to detection.

When teaching your students about fake news, it’s very important that your students know the
disadvantages of them.
1. Fake statements can influence business

Falsly created videos show events that have never happened. They can show people saying, with the
authentic ring of their own voices, things they never said. Fake statements by CEO’s or banking
officials could throw the financial markets into abyss.

2. Fake news can influence politics

A fake article such as “BREAKING: Pope Francis Backed Trump…” can leave a huge impact on politics
and elections. These articles influence certain groups of people or people that look up to persons in
their life. Pope Francis is one of the biggest influencers when it comes to the Catholic Church. So, if he
backs a certain politician…
3. Fake multimedia can ruin personal lives

Photoshopped images of two people meeting, intimate scenes, and much more will ruin a person’s
personal life. People start judging without checking the facts or the source.

4. Fake news feeds a conversation

Sometimes, fake news spreads like rumors or gossip. People will believe and share anything they find
engaging, or that reinforces their beliefs. On top of that, juicy, fake news feeds a conversation and
creates equality between people with the same opinions. A little bit strange, but so true. It connects
people and creates communities.

1. Check the headline

If the headline uses excessive punctuation or capital letters, it might be a good thing to dig a little
deeper. It’s screaming for your student’s attention. It looks like a trap. But are your students clever
enough to read between the lines? If the headline makes a claim about containing a secret or telling
you something that “the media” doesn’t want you to know, your students' alarm bell should be going
crazy. These two “headline traps” could indicate fake news. It’s just like receiving an email with a
subject like that. It would go straight to the spam inbox.

2. Use Google images

Google’s image search tool can be used to fact check and research images. Check out this video to find
out how to distinguish real images versus fake images.

3. Question the publisher/ author

Students use Google to find information on certain topics. Most of the time they just click on the first
result that appears in Google without looking at the link. Train your students to question the reliability
of the publisher before using the information from a website.

Look for credibility in the articles. This can be the “about us” page on a website, or students can look
for the author bio in the article. If the author’s background is unknown or if the webpage is written by
an author without a biography linked to it, you could prohibit students to use the source.

4. Easy sharing

Is the resource easy to share? Take a meme for example. They get shared a lot, but the content isn’t
reliable at all. It’s created by a random person with a random opinion with or without checking the
facts. Most memes are biased, but you can make use of them. For example: use a meme to spark a
discussion in your classroom.
5. Encounter

How did you bump into this resource? Was it promoted on a website? Was it advertised in Google?
Did it show up in a social media feed? Was it sent to you by someone you know? If it was advertised,
the resource is less reliable than content that reaches Google’s top pages without advertising.

Ask yourself what the purpose of the document is and why it was produced. Sometimes it’s very easy
to distinguish spam and promotion from real facts and neutral information. If the page is a mask for
advertising the information might be biased.

6. Links

Does the example link to or cite a variety of sources, including official and expert sources? Does the
information this example provides appear in reports from news websites?

7. Domain authority

Check the domain of the article. What institution publishes this document? Students can use Google
Advanced Search to narrow down their search by omitting specific words or searching exact websites.
For instance, they can enter “.gov” or “.edu” in the box that asks for site or domain. It will limit their
search results to just government or university-owned websites.

8. Up-to-date

If you come across a page with a large amount of broken links, this post isn’t up to date, so neither
will be the information on it probably. Students also need to check the date. Information in a post
from 3 years ago may not have much of an impact anymore. Who knows what new things could have
happened by now that makes the content completely irrelevant.

9. Check more sources

It’s always better to check 2 or more sources to verify information. The more resources state the
same facts, the more likeable it is the information is true.

10. Emotional stage

If students are intensely hoping that the information turns out to be true or false, it might be not the
right emotional stage to start from. Students have to ask themselves if their emotional stage is
biased.

Fact checking websites

It’s hard to distinguish real news from fake news. What follows are a few fact checking tools that
might help you with finding out the truth about certain articles.

1. Politifact
2. FactCheck.org
3. AllSides

Trustworthy resources for students

1. Newsela
2. The Learning Network
3. Scholastic News
 Sub-lesson 3: Communication Advocacy

Advocacy is about influencing and persuading individuals or institutions to change, and advocacy
communication is any planned communication that seeks to achieve the communication goals: to
inform, to persuade and move to action. For example, we can advocate for change of policies or laws
that affect society, but this may not go smoothly if we cannot communicate the ideas and proposals
effectively.

Through advocacy communication, we translate our advocacy goal into a concise and compelling
case for action to policy makers. Instead of just informing them that there is an issue you are
advocating, advocacy communication will make them pay more attention through the prepared
activities and materials. What we want is for them to learn and understand our key message
communicated through multiple channels and then make the desired response.

In short, advocacy communication focuses on influencing specific audiences by means of specific

messages to deliver a change in policy.

Some examples of advocacy communication could be a policy brief—a short document highlighting
the relevance of specific research that offers recommendations for change; materials such as a fact-
sheet, infographics, leaflets and posters can also be developed. A meeting can be organized for a
formal presentation to advocate ideas.

There is also lobbying, which can be defined as an attempt to influence policymakers to take specific
actions concerning an issue. This could start with a conversation in an elevator or during an
afternoon lunch. Having a dynamic website is also a great communication device as it presents
updates, stories, voices from the field and reports. Put as much information regarding the issue that
you think will interest people. And then there are the organized demonstrations.

The essential elements for effective advocacy communication comprise a clear vision, SMART
objectives aimed at solving the problem, extensive knowledge of whom your target audiences are,
and a compelling message tailored for the different stakeholders. The message you send to policy
makers will be different than the message you present to the press. Therefore, you have to use a
variety of different communication channels. Your plan must be well thought out and include
systematic monitoring and evaluation to make sure it reaches your objectives.
 Application
Create an advocacy video on a relevant and timely communication issue. Submit your
output in this Gdrive folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eIJpIjlOFkzk9LZfkW92Y_opWhCsnjOG?usp=sharing

Instructions: This is a group task. I will let you decide on your groupings. You can only
have 9-10 members per group Make sure to indicate your names in your output for easy
checking. (NO NAMES = NO SCORE)

DEADLINE: March 26, 2022 (Saturday)

Visit this link to see this sample advocacy video for your reference:
https://youtu.be/YPi01hBmuUc

Assessment
Read the following questions carefully and choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. What is the definition of "fake news"?

a. News from a political organization
b. News where a reporter unknowingly made a mistake
c. News that deliberately misleads readers
d. All of the above

2. Why is fake news a problem?

a. It creates fear
b. Peoples' lives are harmed
c. It distracts people from real news
d. all of the above

3. How can you verify a report you suspect is fake?

a. Ignore it
b. Research the source/author/facts/date
c. Ask your friend their opinion
d. Share it anyway

4. What is a possible reliable source?

a. Wikipedia
b. Encyclopedia
c. Student/Fellow Peers
d. Social Media

5. Queen Elizabeth has the legal authority to kill President Trump with a sword should he enter
Buckingham Palace.
a. True
b. False
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above

6. Scientists have successfully recovered the protein from an 80 million year old dinosaur fossil.
a. True
b. False
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above

7. Donald Trump hung a photograph of the Women's March at the White House believing that it
showed his inauguration.
a. True
b. False
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
8. Vending machines cause more deaths each year than terrorist attacks committed by refugees.
a. True
b. False
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above

9. Which word means a prank or joke?

a. Credible
b. Hoax
c. Impressionable
d. Prolific

10. Which word means convincing, or believable based on evidence?

a. Impressionable
b. credible/reliable
c. Hoax
d. Prolific