Semiotics is a viable enterprise. The general philosophical theory of signs and symbols deals with their function in artificially constructed and natural languages and comprises syntactic, semantic, and pragmatics. In simpler terms – it is the study of social media. Those of us involved in academia realize that the study of social media (semiotics) is rapidly becoming a scholarly pursuit. The American Education Research Association (AERA) sanctions research project presentations on the subject during their annual conference. It is now evident that social media is “here to stay.” Yes, in the process, social media is impacting our everyday lives tremendously So, one can learn how to effectively utilize social media and decipher the messages for validity and import. Many places are available to enhance one’s knowledge of social media. One, I believe, is our community colleges.
The effort to learn about social media can improve an individual’s life and the community’s. However, raging and name-calling people who use social media because we do not “like their posts” is an unamerican enterprise. Through intimidation, bullying, and censorship, in an attempt to silence social media stifles free press and denies the community access to its government. We need not attempt to censor social media.
I am just saying.
George Fuller, MPA, MA
City Councilmember, City of Oakley
