With the advent of technology, the digital media landscape has bloomed over the years. By engagingly presenting the data, most people have turned towards digital media for their daily dose of current information on worldly matters.
While digital media has proven to be a big influence on common people’s decisions, it is not uncommon to find most digital media outlets being biased and unreliable, especially for the BIPOC people. The BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and is the group that helps demonstrate solidarity among different communities of color. It has been quite alarming to observe both traditional and digital media marginalizing the BIPOC population.
Except for a few treasured BIPOC news sources, access to accurate information is quite nil. Once you venture through the digital media landscape, understanding the minute nuances of the digital media industry will help you to stay informed of the latest events without suffering from media burnout.
Research Is The Key
While every media house has a digital presence, not every media caters to the BIPOC community. There are several media houses, and selecting the media outlets you want to listen to can feel overwhelming; You can use popular search engines instead to find about media houses and independent newspaper houses for journalists that have been providing news to the BIPOC community. This technique will help you in filtering out non-credible accounts.
You can analyze the credibility of the accounts through the posts they post; Cross-check the information posted, language, and the quality of the posts. You can also engage with the audience of the sites.
Use Different Social Media Platforms
With social media giants like Facebook and Instagram fighting to dominate the digital media landscape, other social platforms like Twitter and Youtube should be included.
Twitter can still claim to be one of the fastest media platforms to regulate news pieces among the masses. You can have access to information from all across the world swiftly, plus also to others’ opinions on various events. On the other hand, Youtube has established itself as quite a popular news outlet in the media landscape. People from different backgrounds, ethnicities, or communities can voice their opinions freely without fear of judgment. However, checking the authenticity of the information shared is still highly recommended.
Avoid Media Burnouts
Listening to news that ostracizes the BIPOC community largely can take a toll on emotional and mental health. Therefore, learning to be informed while avoiding media burnout, in the long run, is essential. Suppose you observe the overwhelming news or constant gut-wrenching activities against the BIPOC community worldwide. In that case, it is natural to feel tired of the information constantly being shown in digital media. Take active breaks in between and take care of yourself. It is important to let some things go for the sake of well-being.
Conclusion
Staying informed with the latest updates as a BIPOC member is crucial. However, it will be overwhelming to venture into the digital media landscape without proper tips. Ensure you have researched and filtered out the media houses that do not voice the needs of BIPOC members; check the information being shared on the outlets, and most importantly, do not hesitate to take active breaks to help you process news faster while supporting your mental well-being.
