COMMENTARY / NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017
Tentative plunge into world of social media
t the end of a long
day last month, my
boss came up to my
desk. After a few minutes
of pleasantries, he sat down,
something clearly on his
mind.
“This is the part you’re
really going to hate me for,”
he said, after doing a quick
sweep of the room for any
sharp objects. “I think it
might be time for you to get
a Facebook.”
He sat as my eyes turned
black and I fell silent.
“Are you waiting for my
positive reaction?” I finally
asked.
He risked a laugh. “I ...
don’t think that’s coming.”
Why was this such a big
deal? More importantly,
why, in 2017, was it
necessary to have this
conversation?
It’s precisely because
of Facebook’s appealing
qualities that I didn’t want
to get on in the first place. I
graduated from high school
in 2010, and as I considered
making a profile for college,
I knew that my nosy nature
meant one hour on Facebook
would quickly become
seven. You tell me what’s
more appealing: schoolwork
or clicking through a high
school crush’s third cousin’s
photos?
With great pains I
stayed away, but as I did
my distaste for the site
began to grow — not
for its distraction value,
but for the changes it
seemed to have wrought.
It could give a person the
sense of anonymity, or of
instant celebrity. Instant
gratification, but also instant
regret, the proof of which
would last forever.
Outside of its use for
personal communication,
though, Facebook and
Twitter became mediums
for news gathering and
A
Jayati
Ramakrishnan
reporting. And as they did,
my teachers and bosses
began to ask: What kind
of journalist are you if
you don’t have Facebook?
Rather, if you’re not
engaged with the people
around you, are you doing
your job?
It’s a valid question. It’s
a journalist’s job to keep
up with, and chronicle,
the things going on in
the changing world. It’s
tough to do that if you’re
excluding yourself from one
of the primary ways people
now communicate.
There are obvious and
significant pluses. Besides
allowing people to keep
in touch and find long-lost
friends, it’s a tool — an
immediate way to find out
what’s happening. You can
hear from sources to whom
you may never have access
in person.
It offers a way for
people around the world to
engage with those outside
their immediate circles,
which can be a wonderful
path to more tolerance and
understanding.
It’s an equalizer. As long
as you have an internet
connection (we won’t
go there today), you can
communicate with like-
minded people, or debate
your views when you may
not otherwise have a voice.
Of course, it doesn’t
always work that way.
Many times, social media
serves as an echo chamber.
Visit any comments section
for any news outlet, and
you’ll find it riddled with
screeds from people who
absorbed nothing other than
the story’s incompatibility
with their own views. We
experience that in person
as reporters too, but many
people save their choicest
words for us for Facebook.
It seemed like with social
media, everything was just
too easy. Getting famous.
Excoriating strangers
with no consequences.
“Slacktivism,” where
people get to proclaim
their support for a cause by
simply posting about it, but
without any obligation to
follow through.
And it seemed to me
that I could make the same
argument at work. I’m not
saying I object to anything
that makes my job easier,
or that I do everything the
hard way. But all my boss’
arguments for why I needed
one seemed like things I
could get around. I could
go out and actually talk
to people. I could call my
sources and check in with
them. I could stay abreast
of local happenings by
attending them.
But you can’t be
everywhere at once. And
while you can try to find
someone in the phone book,
it doesn’t always work these
days. Some local agencies
now use Facebook as their
main line to the public.
I knew all this, and I dug
my heels in. I don’t like
change, and I’d made it this
far. Come to think of it, that
sentence could describe
the way I make a lot of my
decisions.
Eventually, my boss got
tired of my theatrics, and
I got one. It was a terse
day in the newsroom, but
despite my best efforts, I
have gotten some use out of
it. On rare occasions I use it
to contact sources, and I’ve
found a few stories I’d have
missed otherwise.
Resisting any sort
of progress is a bit
hypocritical. After all, I’m
typing this column on a
computer. I drive a car to
work every day. If I reject
one form of progress, where
do I draw the line between
spurning Facebook and
refusing to use a microwave
or a flushing toilet, both of
which were cutting-edge
examples of technology at
one time.
But using something and
making it a ubiquitous part
of our lives “just because
it’s there” isn’t a good
argument either. I admit
that toward the end, the
desire to not get a Facebook
was just stubbornness,
but there are things about
it people have come to
consider indispensable that
I maintain are pretty useless
and make us all look bad.
It’s impossible to
make an argument against
Facebook that everyone
will agree with. But it’s
worth weighing the benefits
of a social media platform
against all the noise you
have to filter out.
———
Jayati Ramakrishnan
is a reporter for the
Hermiston Herald and East
Oregonian. Don’t friend her
on Facebook, but contact
her at jramakrishnan@
hermistonherald.com
Senior center receives grant;
will buy new kitchen gear
HERMISTON HERALD
The Hermiston Senior
Center recently received
$20,000 from the Wildhorse
Foundation — the maxi-
mum grant amount awarded
by the organization.
The Hermiston seniors,
who are building a new cen-
ter, will use the money to
buy new kitchen equipment.
Having
commercial
kitchen facilities assists the
group in providing essential
meal services for seniors
and the Meals on Wheels
program.
The foundation also
announced other third quar-
ter awards, which included
31 disbursements for a total
of $303,584. Other local
recipients and the purpose
for the grants include:
•UMATILLA:
Uma-
tilla Museum and Histori-
cal Foundation, $9, 818 for
museum energy upgrade.
• U M A T I L L A
COUNTY: Start Making A
Reader Today, $5,155 for
SMART reading programs;
Umatilla County 4-H, $600
for Attitudes for Success:
Preparing for the Future.
The Wildhorse Foun-
dation manages a commu-
nity benefit fund established
by the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.
The board considers
quarterly grant applications
in the areas of public health
and safety, education, the
arts, historic preservation,
gambling addiction ser-
vices, salmon restoration,
environmental protection
and cultural activities.
The next application
deadline is Jan. 1.
For
more
informa-
tion or a grant application,
visit
www.thewildhorse-
foundation.com or contact
Tiah DeGrofft, Wildhorse
Foundation Administrator,
at 541-966-1628 or tiah.
degrofft@wildhorseresort.
com.
We Have the Perfect Gifts!
Jewelry • Purses • Clothing
• Candles & Much More!
Requires Total Plan with Unlimited Data, new customer port-in or upgrade eligibility, credit approval, Device Protection+
and qualified Smartphone turn-in for Samsung Galaxy S8. Comes via monthly bill credit on a 30-month Retail Installment
Contract plus a $100 U.S. Cellular ® Promotional Card. Taxes, fees and additional restrictions apply.
541-567-4305 • Hwy 395, Hermiston
www.thecottageonline.com
Mon-Sat 8am-8pm • Sun 12pm-5pm
Your
Place r By
Orde 1th!
Dec. 1
Order Your
Favorite
Holiday
Smoked
Turkey!
Great for gift s, parties & gift baskets.
Gift certifi cates available
QUANTITIES LIMITED, ORDER YOURS NOW!
E.O.M.S.
Eastern Oregon Mobile Slaughter
541-567-2011
253 W. Hermiston Avenue, Hermiston
U.S. Cellular ® was ranked “Highest Network Quality Performance among
Wireless Cell Phone Users in the North Central Region” by J.D. Power.
Things we want you to know: U.S. Cellular received the highest numerical score in the North Central region in the J.D. Power 2016 V2, 2017 V1 (tie) and 2017 V2 (tie) U.S. Wireless Network Quality
Performance Studies. 2017 Volume 2 study based on 35,105 total responses from 4 providers, measuring the network quality experienced by customers with wireless carriers, surveyed January–June 2017.
Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com. New consumer or small business (20 lines or less) port-in or upgrade eligibility and Total Plan with Unlimited Data or Unlimited Data Plus required. Purchase
of device via 0% APR 30-mo. Retail Installment Contract, credit approval, qualifying Smartphone turn-in (for free Samsung Galaxy S8 promotional pricing) and Device Protection+ required. Tax due at sale.
A Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee applies; this is not a tax or government required charge. Additional fees, taxes, terms, conditions and coverage areas may apply and vary by plan, service and phone. Offers
valid at participating locations only and cannot be combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. Minimum monthly price of Device Protection+ is $9.99 per Smartphone. A service fee/deductible per
approved claim applies. You may cancel anytime. Property insurance is underwritten by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida and provided under a Master Policy issued to U.S. Cellular. You
will be the certificate holder on U.S. Cellular’s Master Policy for loss/theft benefits. Service Contract Obligor is Federal Warranty Service Corporation in all states except CA (Sureway, Inc.) and OK (Assurant
Service Protection, Inc.). Limitations and exclusions apply. Ask an associate for more details. Free Samsung Galaxy S8 Offer With Smartphone Turn-In: Smartphone must power on and cannot be pin locked.
Device must be in fully functional working condition without any liquid damage or broken components, including, but not limited to, a cracked display or housing. Qualifying Turn-In Devices Include: iPhone 6
or better, Samsung Galaxy S ® 6 or better, Note 5, LG G6,™ LG V20 and LG V30. Offer: Samsung Galaxy S8: Regular price $738 or $24.60/mo., bill credit amount is $21.27/mo.; Samsung Galaxy S7:
Regular price $574.80 or $19.16/mo., bill credit amount is $15.83/mo. (while supplies last). Customer will receive a $100 U.S. Cellular Promotional Card at the point of sale; balance comes via monthly bill
credit on a 30-mo. Retail Installment Contract; 0% APR. Bill credit applied within three bill cycles and ends when balance is paid. Line must remain in good standing. In the event of cancellation of service,
customer will be responsible for the entire Retail Installment Contract balance. Available on new line activations. The early-upgrade program is not available with this offer. $100 U.S. Cellular Promotional
Card given at point of sale or mailed with device via direct fulfillment orders. Promotional Card issued by MetaBank, ® Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Valid only for purchases at
U.S. Cellular stores and uscellular.com. Must be used by expiration date shown on card. Kansas Customers: In areas in which U.S. Cellular receives support from the Federal Universal Service Fund, all reasonable
requests for service must be met. Unresolved questions concerning services availability can be directed to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at 1-800-662-0027.
Limited-time offer. Trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. ©2017 U.S. Cellular