Technology takes students by a storm

In these modern times, people have the ability to filter what they see in the news. Social media has allowed people to customize which stories they see each day. Elon is filled with intelligent students that stay tuned in with the latest news using social media

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed is an upcoming social media site that has completely changed the way people get their news. The primary objective of the site is to mix breaking news stories with articles on celebrities and other entertaining stories. The site tends to appeal most to students.

“I use BuzzFeed as my main source of news,” said freshman Chris Brenning. “Its awesome to read about whatever you want to and its not all heavy news stories about the state of the world.”

Yik Yak

If we’re talking about local news, Yik Yak has provided a way for anyone to post stories within the area anonymously. Though these stories are usually informal and often vulgar, there have been plenty of posts about a significant event around campus.

“Yik Yak is one of the more unconventional social media apps,” said senior Corey Nagel. “Posts are often useless and nonsensical but when something big happens around campus, people post it first to Yik Yak.”

Facebook/Twitter

According to this article published by The Guardian, as of early 2014, Facebook has over 1.23 billion users. Having this many users, one would think that most students would rely on the social media site daily, but this is not the case.

“I used to use Facebook to get my news but recently, I’ve found myself checking Twitter more often,” says senior Alexis Fallon. “Facebook seems a bit irrelevant these days.”

Facebook has been around for many years and has always been an asset to the typical teenager but as new social media sites continue to rise, Facebook has declined.

The decline of Facebook over the years

A pathway to news

Nothing has attracted more attention than the rise of social media and its potential impact on the news. Social media has become a major pathway and tool for modern media consumers. According to many Elon students, social media is the only way to engage in the news.

Applications.

 The recent rapid growth in mobile technology is greatly affecting the way students collect information. Cellphones provide an endless source of data and entertainment.

“I don’t have a television in my dorm room, so I downloaded the CNN app,” said sophomore student Ilana Spiegel. “It’s much easier and convenient.”

Furthermore, students are rarely, if ever, disconnected from their phones. Because of this, the stream of information is consistent and unyielding. In this manner, students have the ability to remain constantly informed.

Facebook.

Facebook news slightly warps the face value of the news because of the manner in which users selectively present the information.

“I think Facebook is a great way to find out news without actually looking for it,” said sophomore student Megan Halkett.

“If it wasn’t for Facebook, I’d probably never know what’s going on the world,” said Halkett.

Twitter.

News organizations soon picked up on Twitter using it to post quick updates on breaking news stories. Make no mistake about it, Twitter in many ways has the ability to go viral in seconds.

“Twitter reports what’s happening the instant it happens,” said sophomore student Kate Levenberg. “I love it.”