EOTO #2 Reactions

 

    After watching all the presentations in class, the group that really piqued my interest was the group 3. Their discussions on the theories presented were the most thorough and detailed out of the bunch. One term that I really found interesting was the term Gatekeeping. "Gatekeeping is the process by which

information is filtered through the media to the public"(Wikipedia). This idea that media is filtered from the public's view is crazy. As someone who watches live media, the idea is that most of the true information that I'm given isn't even the full scope of it. Another interesting point I learned during the presentations was the idea of gatekeeping in social media. Gatekeeping in social media is increasing more and more each day with influencers and celebrities running the show. One thing they do to gatekeep is they only show a small fraction of their actual lives. They do this by picking and choosing what people are allowed to see on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Another point they

talked about in their presentation is gatekeeping in politics. This is more so working with the fact that broadcasters or news reporters get information and pick and choose what they want their viewers to hear. This creates a divide between viewers because one side is getting fed information that the other one isn't.

    The presentation overall did a great job of informing me and keeping me aware and grounded in these ideas. I think we as a collective community need to start realizing that celebrities' lives are not fully shown and that we only see their lives on a microscopic level. Gatekeeping is something we should all know and be informed on and I'm glad this group talked about some of the ways it's used in the world.