1. Should media companies be in charge of regulating their own content, or should the government have a bigger role in this, and why?
Media companies should be in charge of regulating their own content to a certain degree. This is because it promotes a more diverse reach of content that is distributed to the public, and often times opens up audiences' minds to opinions and behaviours of people from outside their own country. To a small extent however, the government should also be involved in it, to at least enforce the basic decencies that should be seen on general media. Things that may promote harmful behaviour should be regulated in some ways and especially not shown to the younger generation, such as explicit content, etc. Ex: Friends would have opened up new more open opinions within China if not for the censorships enforced by the government.
2. How does government regulation affect what we see and hear in the media? Can too much regulation stifle creativity and free speech, or is it necessary for protecting the public?
Government regulation could definitely limit the creativity of media sites' content creators and audiences. One example would be Douyin, where the algorithm in China is heavily influenced to promote healthy content, and sometimes not even show the garbage entertaining content that most people in western society see on our counterpart app, TikTok. China's regulation on Douyin is definitely something that protects its users and citizens from the harms of garbage content, etc, but at the same time it doesn't promote the younger generation to have more freedom in their own interests or future passions.
3. Do social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter need more rules and oversight, or should they be left to regulate themselves? How might this impact our online experience?
Twitter is widely known as an app that promotes the American view of Freedom of Speech. Twitter should be allowed to be run by its people, because although regulation and protection of the people is important, it is just as important to have a platform where the honest opinions can be let out, and discussed. For Facebook however, it is known as a more friendly app targeted towards keeping in touch with friends, and so a healthy amount of regulation that lets people have a good time on the app would be necessary.
4. Should schools teach students media literacy? How might this help us better navigate the media we consume, and is it the responsibility of educators or individuals themselves?
School should definitely teach the students media literacy. These days we are chronically online, and everything somehow would involve media. Being literate enough to see what is really happening and trotting on the internet carefully and mindfully is something that everyone needs to learn these days, as depending on the media we consume our opinions could also be heavily influenced, and eventually shape who we are. Consuming media safely and mindfully will eventually help us be more responsible with what we say, as well as be more open-minded people who still have values they hold on to. In a perfect world, where everyone consumes everything, peace would be as easy as breathing for us. Educating to get as close to that as possible is the one thing schools can do.
