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Social Media Influence on Private and Public Writing

Private writing involves individuals writing for themselves, such as a personal diary. People write their diaries in codes best understood by them. Very often personal diaries contain information and thoughts, which the individuals want to hide from the community. As a result, the diaries of the most celebrated persons are the source of public interest. On the other hand, public writings in such media as Websites, Twitter, and blogs are meant for other individuals to read. Usually, public writing is done by professional writers contributing to traditional print media, which includes magazines and newspapers. Individuals believe in the information coming from print media since it is verified and professionally done (Barton, 2005).

The emergence of the Internet in the modern world, as well as different social media, has distorted the division between private and public writings. People indulge in public writing in various ways including updating Facebook profiles, posting a tweet, commenting on an article in the newspaper, and writing a blog since anything written on the Internet is public (Baym & Boyd, 2012). The current paper will focus on how social media has influenced the division between private and public writing. The paper argues that social media has made the distinction between the writings of both types vague.

Individuals use their voices to communicate over the Internet, hence the personal representation in every form of communication. Normally, the voice is the personal expression in a unique way that differentiates the communication of one person from the others. People use their voices when they speak or write messages online (West, Lewis, & Currie, 2009). Nevertheless, people use private writing frequently until they become aware of the importance of online communication and public writing.

Research shows that shifting from private to public writing enables students to make their expression a method of public participation (Tyner, 2014). When individuals write their thoughts on social media, they should consider that any person can read what they have published, since it is an open space (Bolter, 2014). Social networking sites are a great source of information and can influence readers to form a specific outlook. The social, as well as psychological characteristics of the media, depend on the ability of the individual to link others to form a public (Livingstone & Brake, 2010).

Distinguish between Nonsense and Sound Argument

People have lost the ability to distinguish between nonsense and sound argument following the rise of social media. Therefore, devaluing the entire word currency (Briggs & Burke, 2010). People are busy checking the information they read. For instance, when an individual reads a tweet or a blog post, he/she does not need to be conscious of the source of the information and if it is genuine, keep in mind the information is someone’s opinion. People are subjected to their opinions, and it might draw other similar subjective reactions (Campbell & Park, 2008).

The newspaper is the only article people read assuming that the writer represents an organization that is responsible for its output quality. Occasionally, people may reveal their data to the public without knowing it, for instance, when a person posts his/her opinion on Facebook with the knowledge of privacy limited to family and friends, his/her private feelings will be in the public domain. The urge of people to express themselves is deeply rooted in them, hence the willingness to share their private thoughts (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2001).

What about Blogging?

The blogging act can be highly interactive. Nonetheless, it takes a blogger with no formal journalistic training some time to develop creative writing skills and create a blog to attract an audience (Livingstone & Brake, 2010). The writing and thinking of the author were developed by the public analysis. The content of traditional media is controlled, whereas, blogging has no screening of information published. Blogs can be personal, professional, and academic. The research shows that bloggers are self-revealing about their whole selves and work. It reaches a point when the audience of a blogger grows, hence making it impossible for the blogger to correspond to the demand, reply to emails, and comments from readers (Gerbaudo, 2012).

A large number of followers makes it impossible for a blogger to respond to all mails, forcing a blogger to turn into a broadcast outlet providing information without engaging in conversation concerning it. Most bloggers use pseudo names to protect their real names, while others use their real identities and do private writing. Most bloggers use fake accounts when blogging about issues regarding politics and those considered contentious. One more blog issue is connected with the fact that bloggers cannot deal with someone face-to-face. Most bloggers become more active when they realize that their blogs have many followers. They feel optimistic from readers’ encouraging feedback and hence, write more (Lange, 2007).

Social media serves as a broadcasting service making communication simple and fast. Regardless of what individuals publish, it tends to travel to different parts of the world instantly without the knowledge of persons reading their content (Smith, 2013). When using real identities, it is advisable to use public writing. People using social media sites are concerned with protecting their identities, resulting in creating many pseudonyms accounts. On the other hand, writers on traditional media require protection. The rapid alteration in social media networks makes it difficult to correspond to all the changes and innovations (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2001).

Therefore, whenever writers become familiar with the security settings on social sites they are changed without consultation. An average user who is dormant on social media might encounter problems with security settings due to their rapid changes. The settings become laidback without their knowledge and, therefore, make public posts unknowingly (Bolter, 2014).

The sharing of blogs has become more common as a web publishing form making it difficult to believe in the credibility of information represented on the Internet. When obtaining information to support the claims of web publishers, it might be challenging to acquire trustworthy sources. According to Baym & Boyd (2012), individuals who trust commercial websites amount to 29% compared to the 33% who only trust advice. People prefer to have information regarding the individuals running the site, site privacy policy, how to reach them, and the linked factors to the site sponsorship and authorship. It is impossible to identify authentic information because there are many websites with different topics and available domain extensions (Livingstone & Brake, 2010).

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is becoming distinct due to emerging domain names. They include .biz and .info, people no longer rely on .gov, .org, .edu, .net, and .com. Social media gives a perfect platform for sharing personal details, images, and information with family and friends. The availability of various social networking sites makes interaction much easier. Social media communication has various advantages. They include the possibility to contact and communicate with friends who live abroad. One can be friends with the next-door neighbor even though you see each other daily (Livingstone & Brake, 2010).

When one posts a status on Facebook and random people read it, it is difficult to compare with the situation when the publisher’s friends read it using their real accounts. For many people, it is similar to having a conversation with friends in person (Bolter, 2014). On the other hand, what one posts on social media can portray who he/she is. For instance, some individuals may tend to post half-nude photos or photos in clubs drinking cocktails among others.

Do People Use Social Media to Reveal Their Secrets?

People have always been interested in the motives behind writing on social media. Do people use social media to reveal some of their secrets, look for reassurance, or fans? People’s writing and online behaviors help indicate who they are (Bolter, 2014). Social media has changed the way of sharing information and communication. Before the digital era and the exploration of the Internet, people tended to start relationships with someone they knew. However, today people can communicate with friends of friends, fellow gamers, and total strangers from different parts of the world. People can connect with celebrities if they like their Facebook pages or follow them on Twitter.

For instance, when a celebrity retweets to its fans personally, they become very excited, hence the bond the person has with the celebrity strengthens. In addition, if the celebrity sends a fan a direct message it is overwhelming to the fan (Bolter, 2014). A celebrity with a big number of followers always receives overwhelming responses whenever he/she tweets or even posts a status on the Facebook page, irrespective of the content of the information.

How Social Media Removed the Difference between Private and Public Writing

In conclusion, social media has influenced the division between private and public writing. Sometimes, it is difficult to differentiate public, academic, or professional writing from colloquial private writing. The underlying argument is that social media has almost removed the difference between private and public writing. The increasing usage of social media has enabled people to develop their writing skills, hence a better understanding of what writing to use within the website. The more individuals share the more they feel linked to the audience. Through mistakes, the writers learn/from their audience in the public space, such as the Internet. People engage in public writing in different ways, including writing blogs, updating status and profile on Facebook, posting tweets, and commenting on newspaper articles.

Usually, people normally use private writing until they realize the importance of public communication. Anyway, individuals have lost interest in distinguishing between sound argument and subjective opinion. Blogging requires journalistic training, creative writing skills, and time to attract an audience. Social media acts as a broadcasting service, hence making communication easier. People create numerous accounts with fake names just to protect their real identities. Blogging has become common making it difficult to believe in the credibility of information on the Internet. Anyway, due to social media, interaction has been made easier, more interesting, and quicker.

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