YouTube within Society...Good or Bad? (7th Post)
YouTube within Society...Good or Bad? (7th Post)
Thank all of you for your thoughts and insights on our
topics over the past couple of weeks. I
really appreciate the feedback to my questions as it helps me to see the issues
raised through multiple lenses. I think
that we can all agree that YouTube within the classroom can play a pivotal role
for educators as well as for us as future instructional designers. We can also all agree that credibility of the
content is one of the most critical and important factors as we move
forward. In my opinion the educator and
instructional designer can leverage a variety of deliverables to include
YouTube to provide successful instructional theory application. As we all have discussed the validation of
the video accuracy and credibility will ultimately measure how successful the
video can be within the content. I like
many others am not ready to abandon the idea of textbooks. I think they provide value in many ways and
the goal of both educators and instructional designers is to find ways to
deliver content that meets every style of learner. I like most of you think YouTube although
valuable is not a foundational replacement to other forms of delivery content. The variety of deliverables is indeed a key
and YouTube aides in providing a valuable tool that is not ready to be on its
own.
One of our
bloggers brought up an issue about the 2nd Amendment in my last blog (that I
recommend everyone read as it will help to provide context to my next points) that really got me to thinking. We can all agree from the recent activity in
the news that the media plays a huge role and influences many people across the
globe. YouTube is no different. It plays a role in providing content (not
always accurate or vetted) to society with no fact checking behind it. This can lead to misinformation and in some
cases can sway the public to believing something that is just not true. Whether it is true or not makes no difference. The important factor here is that a single
video if it goes viral can really sway public opinion. Depending on what side you sit on, depends on
how much of a difference it can make in your individual lives. There is a debate of censoring information on
the internet with platforms like YouTube.
I really do not want to have a political debate but would rather focus
on whether you feel YouTube changes society for the good or bad. Please watch the video posted below and let
me know your thoughts. I would ask the
following questions after watching the below video. Should YouTube be allowed to censor its content,
or should it have to publish all content within reason? Does the censoring of information from
YouTube contribute to a higher agenda?
Is YouTube ultimately good or bad for society? I really look forward to your thoughts and as
always please visit again soon.
Kevin, excellent post and I really enjoyed the video as well. YouTube is amazing to me because of course I remember what life was like without it. The really funny thing is that our first grader really enjoys watching this channel made by a family on YouTube. It is funny but now she is always asking us if we can make a channel (not happening) I just never could have imagined this when I was a kid. There are settings we can control on what she can watch and we do limit her screen time as well. In answer to your questions about censoring I am torn. There is a thin line these days between truth and conspiracy. I don't agree with impeding the freedom of speech. I also don't think that YouTube is inherently bad. As with most things common sense and moderation is important. The subject of YouTube is a difficult one to be sure and I don't think there will be an end to this debate at any point in the near future.
ReplyDelete-Mandy
Mandy,
DeleteThanks for visiting! I also am not ready to have a YouTube channel. There are lots of challenges associated with that in itself! I think freedom of speech is something we all hold dear to our heart. YouTube provides many benefits but we have to be careful of censorship moving forward. Great insights!
Have a great day!
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion this week. YouTube has been the centerpiece of social media since its inception and it continues to thrive today and into the future. As service members, we fight to protect freedoms such as free speech, so I don't believe that YouTube should censor its content, however, they do not allow inappropriate materials to be viewed unless the viewer confirms their age via email access. I believe that YouTube can be both good and bad for society, but I tend to lean more towards the good since most videos available on YouTube are inspiring, funny, and harmless. However, as you know, perception can be reality. So, misinformation or conspiracies that people put on YouTube are just wrong, but it is their right. It is really up to us parents and as a society to ensure the next generation know the difference between good and bad. The next generation can be free to decide for themselves if the information broadcasted on YouTube are true or false - good or bad.
Charles,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot and the comments this week. I could not agree more with you more as I believe YouTube should have rules and regulations on censorship. We need to ensure equality across the entire platform. Thanks again for the comments.
Have a great day!
Kevin
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post and I enjoyed watching the video as well. To me I could not imagine life without You Tube because it is a very useful platform if you use it the right way. It has a lot of instructional videos and allows me to gain clarity on some topics that I might have challenges with. In my opinion my answer would be “it depends” on how an individual ensures that the information they are receiving is credible, we cannot just make the assumption that just because it is on You Tube that it has been vetted for its accuracy. I think it is up to the individual to make that assumption on what they choose to believe or not. Although you make a great point in how easily one can be influenced by what one sees or hears which can warp the perception of a person when receiving the information. It would ultimately in my opinion come down to what that person chooses to believe like I stated earlier. Great Post
Alex
Alex,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot this week. I like you use YouTube daily and could not imagine a day where I go through my daily routine without it. You are correct in that YouTube content is all about credibility. It is personal accountability for the users that view the platform daily. Thanks again for insights!
Have a great day.
Kevin
ReplyDeleteGreat thought provoking topic and video. I am firmly on the side that YouTube is good rather then bad. YouTube provides a creative, informational, instructive, and in some cases life changing content to the world. For every bad video (content that is inappropriate) there are 100 life affirming videos. Its hard to censor a platform when you are looking at it from a global view. My view of what is appropriate is very different for a 15 year old living in Europe or Asia. This is the same argument facing Facebook right now. Do you censor content that is false or misleading? There are numerous foreign actors out there that are trying to provide a false narrative from everything from the election results to COVID-19 vaccinations. Its an individual choice to be well informed on what is false and what is true. I can't influence how you perceive a video I can only form my own opinion on the matter. Thank you for your insight.
Tammy
Tammy,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot this week. I agree that the benefits of YouTube are limitless. There is definitely some stats that would back the theory that there are more good videos than bad. I think you bring up a great point on how hard it is to regulate being a global platform. This is a difficult problem with no easy solution. Thanks for your insights.
Have a great day.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteYou have posed an extremely relevant question in today's environment. I think that YouTube is good, it allows for freedom of expression. I do think there has to be some kind of regulation implemented, globally all medial platforms are regulated depending on the societal norms. America is no different, although many times we want to think this is true, but things that are allowed and seen as normal in other countries are not allowed in the United States. This is due to what the society approve.
Walt
Walt,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot. I agree freedom of expression is part of the foundation of America. I could not agree more. Regulations, Regulations, Regulations!!! Thanks for the insights.
Have a great day.
v/r
Kevin
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good question. Although I don't think you can truly have the conversation without having a political debate, because right now the censorship issue is politically driven. I personally am on the side of zero censoring only because I don't think you can trust any group of people to not abuse the ability to censor information to either alter peoples opinion or to silence unpopular information. This has held true with every platform that provides information in this country's short history. Papers, telegraphs, radio, television, and now social media. Britannica tracks the history of censorship and shows it is deep seated in politics. Now, how do you allow platforms like youtube to prevent completely ridiculous information from going virial and convincing people of things like the earth is flat. I wish I knew. I think we will have to stay the course of no censorship until a good solution presents itself.
Michael,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot. I appreciate the attempt to stay away from politics as this argument never seems to end well for either side. I think you have a unique perspective that has debate points on both sides. It is a challenge moving forward with how to keep things from going viral. It seems almost everything now days goes viral. It will be interesting to debate moving forward. Thanks for the insights.
Have a great day.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThis is easy. YouTube is good for society. Like many other things that are good for society, it can be used for bad. People who want to mislead or misinform will find a way to do it whether a platform like YouTube exists or not. Two sides to every coin. The scale of platforms like YouTube makes them weapons of mass destruction for those who wish to use them in less than productive/positive ways. YouTube and its ilk were created with good intentions but like many other things created with good intentions, they are corrupted by humans. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions" - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Mike W.
Mike,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot this week. I agree that YouTube is excellent but as you point out responsibility for the platform is on the user. It is all about personal accountability. Thanks for the insights.
Have a great day!
Kevin
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post this week, I enjoyed it for its information and thought provoking questions. Is YouTube bad, no not inherently, but the problem is when bad people use it for bad reasons. Like censorship. I do not know or understand why certain people and their views are being censored, but it would seem that they are on most platforms. The difficult part for me is know what is legit information anymore, because it seems like everyone has an agenda and they will tell you whatever it is they think you want to hear to pull you to their side. False truths and lies drip from every social media and news platform, it feels like everyone is wrong. So I have just stopped looking at, or watching everything from Facebook to Fox... I just do not know what to believe and who is telling the truth anymore. So I guess Ill read a book and reminisce about the good ole days.
Andy
Andy,
DeleteThanks for visiting my BlogSpot. I could not agree more that YouTube is the users responsibility. Like most things it can be abused if misused. It is very hard to filter through to find the truth anymore. Headlines capture America and even if they are not true many will never research to find the validity. Thanks for the insights.
Have a great day!