Whoever said journalism was a dying field must not tweet, tik tok, or snap...

Yes, I'm talking to you, boomers. Believe it or not, journalism is still very much alive, and in the age of social media, it won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have drastically changed the field. Writers and reporters have been able to keep up. Can you?

At this point, anyone can be a "journalist." Social media gives literally everyone the opportunity to post and publish. Whether you're tweeting about how much you hate Zoom University, or sharing a local news article, content is always flying around. Now more than ever, people are engaging and taking in information from a plethora of perspectives. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... (there's always a "but") there are some negatives to consider. It has become increasingly important to fact check. Considering anyone can post just about anything, falsehoods are inevitable. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to believe everything you read on the internet?

You might be asking, "how can I tell if something is true or not?" Lucky for you, social media has created something called an "active" audience. Back in the day, news viewers couldn't ask questions. There was no "comments" section or "direct message" button. New technologies now allow us to engage with each other. There is a more direct line of communication between the audience and the publisher. Question, comment, and critique away! Or you could just Google it I guess.

Where's the fun in that though? Social media is begging us to connect. Journalists now have the tools to build a public profile, a community around their work, that cultivates conversation with their audience. The relationship between the two has never been more personal. Instead of just looking like a talking head, journalists can use social media to let their followers get to know them, and vice versa.

This brings me to the ever-changing habits of journalists at the hands of new technology. By creating a social profile, you are essentially inviting others into your life. The field isn't so one-sided anymore. Journalists have since been forced to be responsive. Answering questions and acknowledging comments holds a strong seat in the job description. If ignored, well, maybe just don't do that. You have to show up.

Regular engagement goes hand-in-hand here. Tweeting ten times a day just to disappear for the next week won't work. Content creators now have to post, share, and respond consistently. Otherwise, they may lose that audience I was talking about earlier. This doesn't mean that journalists are just posting to post. No, no, no. Instead, they have to consider what their followers actually want to know and see from them.

If it wasn't already clear enough, journalism is a sign of the times. After adjusting to several technological waves already, you really thought this one could bring it down? Don't get me wrong, social media can definitely be argued to have left a bad taste in the mouths of society at times, but could it actually be improving journalism? Hurting it? Either way, it's here, and journalists aren't going down without a fight.