https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBIGQoRhqMA
What can be found online and on social media, who is active in these spaces, and new audio-based platforms were some of the key topics discussed at the conference “Social Media and Public Discourse.”
The event was held online on Thursday, April 15, 2021. It was organized by the Department of International Studies. It took place as part of the Media Literacy Against Disinformation Initiative (MLADI) program, which was developed and proposed by the Center for the Study of Contemporary Open Societies (CESCOS) and has by the Embassy of the United States of America.
The speaker was Victoria Gadea, M.A.—who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, serves as director of policy and networks at Ciudadana, and is a political columnist for No Toquen Nada (Del Sol FM).
The Internet and social media
“The internet and social media offer opportunities to engage in new conversations, to exchange ideas, and to connect with people who are actually very far away from where we are,” said Gadea.
“Whereas the media used to be the intermediary through which we learned about the political platform of a current or future leader, today that role may be filled by social media. Rather than a shift away from intermediaries, what we’ve seen recently is a change in who those intermediaries are. Furthermore, we’ve become prosumers. In other words, we don’t just consume information—we also produce it.”
Audio and new platforms
“We know that the range of podcasts, audiobooks, audio readings of articles, chat rooms, and meditation and relaxation audio files is growing steadily,” the expert said. She added, “The media is evolving in this direction. Today, many print media outlets have their own audio news readings, and this is a reflection of how information is consumed today.”
Gadea noted that, although the audio market had been growing, 2020 marked a turning point in terms of the supply and demand for this type of content.
Being isolated led people to seek out background noises that mimic the conversations they used to hear in person.
“The unique features of audio relate to the availability of contactless technologies, which allow certain functions to be controlled via voice commands. This fosters a sense of closeness among participants.” The expert also explained that the voice serves as a guarantee of authenticity.
He mentioned three new platforms that rely solely on audio: Discord, a chat app that emerged in 2015 among gamers; Clubhouse, an audio chat room that launched in 2020; and Twitter Spaces, which launched that same year in response to Clubhouse. The main difference between Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse is the type of operating system they support.
Citizens' demands
Against this backdrop of changing platforms and shifts in public discourse, Gadea compared the behavior of politicians and citizens on social media.
“These are two quite distinct dimensions. We sometimes tend to confuse them, but it’s important to draw a clear distinction because they are not the same thing, and if we look at history, they didn’t emerge at the same time. Politicians joined social media after social activists had already been active there. There’s always a pioneer or two, but generally speaking, they joined in response—to adapt to the public’s new demands.”
“Politicians have adapted to the digital landscape and are active in the media as well as engaging directly with the public. We see this most clearly during political campaigns, when they host live streams or send WhatsApp audio messages.”
“Politicians constantly adapt to the environments where their audiences are. As audiences migrate across different platforms, politicians find ways to communicate with those citizens and attract new voters.”