The  rise of social media as an effective means of communication has radically changed the way journalists produce news for the public. Shifting away from blocks of printed text and rapid-fire speech on T.V. to more social media reporting has allowed journalists to tell essential stories on a deeper, more intimate level, but this benefit comes with its own set of risks.

At the 2016 Al-Neuharth Free Spirit Conference this past summer, students from across the United States were chosen to receive a scholarship and attend the conference, in order to learn more about the future of journalism. Social media was one of the topics the conference focused on.

“The technology that we’re heading [towards] is further improving the way we tell stories and making it so the reader, the viewer, [or] the watcher is able to view someone else’s life in a more clearer, more truthful way,” Michigan Free Spirit Scholar Erykah Benson said.  

Benson is excited for the role social media will play in the future, especially Twitter.

“Twitter is instant and precise, so I feel like Twitter’s really rising,” she said.

Kansas Free Spirit Scholar Adam Cole is more skeptical about the current state of journalism; he believes we’re currently on a decline, but that social media, if utilized properly, could help us improve.

“I would say [the decline is] because of social media but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing either because in time, the right people are going to come into business and the right people are going to know how to maximize social media,” he said.

Cole especially loves the way news outlets like Vice are using social media.

“Now, I can go on [Snapchat] and read a long form article from Vice, and learn something I never knew before which is incredible…I’d definitely like to see people follow Vice’s suit a little more just to keep up the credibility of journalism,” he said.

Idaho Free Spirit Scholar Olivia Taher shares Cole’s concerns about social media.

“[Social media] has the possibility to [lessen the quality of journalism] and it also it heightens it too but that’s just one of the fears I have…[but], like everybody was saying, that’s how they connect with people in new ways — it’s not taking over but it’s making a wider field,” she said.

Although Mississippi Free Spirit Scholar Chandler Carter is also in favor of social media use within the field of journalism, she believes that along with access to a greater audience, it also forces people to be more aware of the news.

“There’s more in the ‘playground’ there’s more in the field and more for you to see and more for you to read and I think that a lot of that has to do with being aware…a lot of the times [social media] almost forces us to read [news] so we’re not left in the dark,” she said.

A survey from Indiana University school of journalism that asked 1,080 U.S. journalists about their social media usage in 2013 found that Twitter, and other microblogs like it were the most popular; around 54% of the participants said that they used it regularly. The importance of Twitter as an effective tool for journalism was also discussed at the Free Spirit Conference.

“I see a lot of trends in the use of Twitter, Twitter is I think easiest [to use] because it’s more compatible with a lot of other social media sites,” Carter said. “Twitter in journalism is…how to get the word out to the younger generation and the older generation.”

Another trend that’s emerged among journalists and social media users in general is branding.

“That’s the biggest trend I’ve seen, brand building, everybody’s doing it now, and that’s something, in all honesty, that [everyone is] going to need to do and continue to do on a grander scales the more advanced our technology gets,” Cole said.

Carter also believes that building a personal brand through social media will become essential in the future.

“I’m trying to make my social media a lot better because it is a brand, you’re branding yourself and even if it is something personal people still follow you and people still look at it, especially if your account is public and that’s just something that you need to take pride in and present well because you want to present yourself well,” she said.

Outside of their roles as journalists, many Free Spirit Scholars are rethinking the way they’re going to use social media as a tool in their personal lives.

“I’m now more aware of what’s out there, so I’m definitely going to take advantage of all the ways I can consume news and read it and watch it,” Benson said.

Carter is ready to approach her social media with a strategy, now that she knows how journalists are using it.

“It gives you that sense that somebody is always watching — you want your social media to be a little like a portfolio especially if you are posting links to your websites on your personal account…I’m definitely going to be more aware and be more active on social media,” she said.