The voice of Generation Y is dying, and socially power media sites are to blame. Elite Daily, BuzzFeed and other similar websites have proclaimed themselves as a news source for the 20-somethings out there, with topics ranging from the scientific development of invisibility clothing to why you should never be the first to say “I love you.”
Elite Daily captivates its audience with seemingly pithy articles that give its target audience — women in their early 20s — life, dating and relationship advice.
While it is empowering to read articles listing all of the signs that you’ve found the love of your life, the reality is that most, if not all, of these writers have no expertise in the areas of love or self-fulfillment.
In fact, most of the staff writers for Elite Daily and BuzzFeed are unpaid columnists, who have no definite journalistic background and who are not qualified life coaches.
These writers are essentially the grown-up versions of the lovestruck, whiny teenage Tumblr users, who use the Internet as a place to express all of their deep thoughts and sage words of wisdom.
Unfortunately, the madness does not stop here. Elite Daily has grown to include a variety of sections, such as Business and News.
While these sections are standard for real new sites, Elite Daily has no right to encroach on these territories. News stories posted on this site have little factual base and often lack serious reporting.
A recent news story chronicled 25 photographs from the Hong Kong protests that “proved that China failed at censoring social media.”
This story was basically a broad synopsis of the events leading up to the Hong Kong protest and a gallery of screenshots of Twitter posts with clever, albeit nondescript, captions.
And when BuzzFeed and Elite Daily do decide to cover an actual news story, its writers often consult other credible news sources such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal instead of seeking out their own sources.
This is not credible news; it’s just a regurgitation of facts.
If you’re looking for the 25 best ways to ask your boyfriend to prom, Elite Daily is a great source. But when it comes to hard-hitting news stories, leave those to the real news sites.
The problem with these sites is that they are often given undue credibilty as media outlets.
While these sites serve the function of providing mindless entertainment to bored young people, they should never be treated as more than just that — trivial sources of meaningless inspirations and baseless claims.
“The Voice of Generation-Y” should be one that speaks truth and sheds light on important issues, not one that considers all the reasons why your boyfriend will not call you back.
