PLN and Communications: What do People See?

In a Personal Learning Network, it is inevitable for some users to share their personal identity especially when the situation calls for it. In the case of Harrison Mooney, a journalist and a memoirist, he used his personal identity and experience in a book that he is writing. His book centers on his life as an adopted black kid who used to believe that he was some kind of anomaly (Miller, 2020). In creating this narrative of blackness, it is inevitable for Mooney to refer to his personal experiences because if he did not, that would not be a narrative of his “blackness” at all. Harrison Mooney also share his personal identity in social media to discuss the black identity and it actually enabled him to connect with other people who had the same kind of experience. Nevertheless, even if sharing one’s personal identity help social media users make their narratives more powerful and credible, it should still be regulated. Correspondingly, I believe that when it comes to PLN interaction, users should be vigilant enough to not overshare.

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) can either help or hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in public discourse. PLN can develop ideas especially when the PLN is composed of polite and professional people who are open to new ideas. In this kind of PLN, even if the members do not actually agree with one another, they know how to strategically present their counterargument in such a way that will not offend others. On the other hand, if the PLN is composed of biased individuals, then expect that the discussion will always be one-sided. To avoid this kind of PLN, users need to curate their PLN in such a way that will expose them to various contents. Just as Meikle (2016) discussed in “Convergence and Limits of Citizen Journalism,” the conjunction of contents can make way for new approaches of storytelling for news and public information. The availability of different contents can also help users cross examine the validity of certain information and verify the information’s consistency as well.

In terms of my own PLN, I would say that I would say that my identity fit into my PLN.  This is because I follow the authors, talk show hosts, and actors that I personally likes. This way, my feed is filled with information that I am interested in. Moreover, even if it is necessary to reflect my identity in my PLN, I believe that I still need to observe professional and personal boundaries. In the case of journalists, teachers, and politicians, their job requires them to be neutral or objective. In other words, journalists, teachers, and politicians cannot just freely state their political bias in their PLNs or else because people will have the tendency to assume that they are biased and therefore not reliable. In this case, even if as a citizen, they are entitled to freedom of expression, their profession demands them to be objective so it is really necessary for them to set their professional and personal boundaries for the sake of their credibility.

References

Meikle, G. (2016). Convergence and the limits of citizen journalism. In Social media: Communication, sharing and visibility (pp. 64-87). Routledge.

Miller, J. (2020, November). EDCI 338 A01 – Harrison Mooney [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKNQpz0RrI&feature=youtu.be