Introduction
This paper is aimed to reflect on 1) fake news vs. editorial, 2) analysis (expertise), and 3) anytime/anyplace access to information. It will dwell upon their trends, issues, opportunities, and impact on society. Besides, the paper will provide evidence to proof the point.
Fake News vs. Editorial
Existing possibilities of sharing information fast have resulted in the fact that some of the news appears to be a hoax. Fake news is common, and the trend is to use them to influence the public opinion. The issue is that some people tend to believe and, thus, get misled. The goals which are followed in the case of fake news might be different, ranging from intention to impress the public to mere political or economic issues. Apart from that, using fake news allows manipulating the public opinion. The impact which fake news could have might appear to be the one of the Grecian horse (Stein-Smith 3).
As for editorials, they tend to reveal the editor’s opinion. Editors can present some factual information through the prism of their viewpoint. This is not mere fake news but just a personal evaluation of notions or events (Dale 321). The trend is to express the opinion in an open way. Besides, the stranger it might sound, the better it is perceived in the society. Nowadays, people like arguing. Thus, provocative editorials at the edge of fake news are common. The opportunity is to reflect on the issue and arrive at the right conclusion (Gross R2). The impact is that some readers tend to accept the editor’s opinion.
Analysis (Expertise)
With the growth of the amount of information, it has become important to be able to analyze it. Expertise is critical when it comes to the issue of the quality of information. The major trend is to use modern technologies which help to facilitate the process of conducting analysis and expertise (Sethi and Gil par. 2). There are many devices and tools which might be involved in the analysis. The issue is that a thorough analysis requires not only machinery assistance. It might also entrain much effort from the part of a specialist who is expected to work out right parameters for the expertise (Sethi and Gil par. 5-7). When it comes to opportunities which analysis is likely to provide, it is important to mention the necessity of processing a large amount of information. Besides, the analysis allows answering the questions on the quality of information, including reliability and relativity (Sethi and Gil par. 7). As for the impact of the analysis, it appears to be rather controversial. On the one hand, it assists in processing information. On the other hand, it could be used as a means of manipulation of the public consciousness. Despite this, the analysis is critical (Sethi and Gil par. 12).
Anytime/Anyplace Access to Information
With the rapid development of the technologies which the humanity has been facing over the past three decades, anytime/anyplace access to information has come to play an important role in present-day society. It provides many opportunities and has a notable influence on people from all over the globe.
As for the trends, the major one is the universal globalization which anytime/anyplace access to information tends to entrain and facilitate. It helps to draw peoples from various cultures together. However, the issue is that this results in eliminating boundaries and, thus, withdrawing national and cultural peculiarities. Apart from that, there is a widespread trend to be always available online. The major drawback is psychological dependence: people claim to feel uneasy when they do not have access to the Internet and cannot find the necessary information and communicate to their relatives and friends (Jarrahi and Thompson par. 2).
Anytime/anyplace access to information is acknowledged to provide many opportunities. First, it allows finding and using any data whenever and wherever it is required, which means that it is not needed to keep much information in mind. It is sufficient to know where to find it. Second, it enables people to get informed about current news or any other events in the world immediately. Third, it facilitates the issue of storing and sharing information. Fourth, it results in rapid spread of news all over the globe. Finally, it contributes to the closing in relationships on different levels ranging from interpersonal to cross-cultural (Nelson et al. 58-59).
The impact which anytime/anyplace access produce on the society is acknowledged to be substantial. It is important to note that it is rather convenient to have access to any information anytime and anywhere. Users get used to such an opportunity. Therefore, when the access is denied due to some circumstances beyond control, people might happen to experience some emotional discomfort and feel hopeless. Hence, there appears to be an emotional dependence, which might turn into a psychological problem. Therefore, despite providing many opportunities, anytime/anyplace access to information proves to be addictive (Jarrahi and Thompson par. 7-8).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that this paper has reflected on 1) fake news vs. editorial, 2) analysis (expertise), and 3) anytime/anyplace access to information. It has dwelt upon their trends, issues, opportunities, and impact on society. Besides, the paper has provided evidence to proof the point.
Works Cited
Dale, Robert. “NLP in a Post-truth World.” Natural Language Engineering, vol. 23, no. 2, 2017, pp. 319-324.
Gross, Michael. “The Dangers of a Post-truth World.” Current Biology, vol. 27, no. 1, 2017, pp. R1-R4.
Jarrahi, Mohammed Hossein, and Leslie Thompson. “The Interplay between Information Practices and Information Context: The Case of Mobile Knowledge Workers.” Wiley Online Library, 2017, Web.
Nelson, Sarah Beth, Jarrahi, Mohammed Hossein, and Leslie Thompson. “Mobility of Knowledge Work and Affordances of Digital Technologies.” International Journal of Information Management, vol. 37, no. 2, 2017, pp. 54-62.
Sethi, Richard J., and Yolanda Gil. “Scientific Workflows in Data Analysis: Bringing Expertise across multiple domains.” Future Generations Computer Systems, 2017, Web.
Stein-Smith, Kathy. “Librarians, Information Literacy, and Fake News.” Strategic Library, vol. 3, issue 25, 2017, pp. 1-4.