That Mask of Media

What we see is what we perceive. And what we perceive is what determines one’s reaction. Information spreads like wildfire. In an era of technology advancements, the society has started adapting to the ways of receiving information through any form. Be it television, radio, print or even social media channels, everyone today have their own ways of sending across a common piece of information. Just like a coin has two sides, this piece of information received through various mediums can have its own pros and cons.

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Where media once was the most trusted source for information, today it survives with a propaganda. Attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are three areas where media focuses to persuade. From times where, media acted as intermediary vehicles that reflects public opinion, today, it goes far and beyond in considering public opinion. Edward.S.Herman and Naom Chomsky’s book, Manufacturing Consent is a complete research on the propaganda model and explains media’s behavior and performance set with political agendas. Media today has lost its self-image as providers of information, rather works in ways that people cannot make sense of the world.

Let’s consider an example how a news coverage be the root cause of a human behavior change. At times, we may not realize, but the impact of the intensity of the news covered can have a lot of adverse effects to the human brain. When we’re hit with a pandemic, extensive coverage of the conditions of people across the world causes fear, anxiety and lead to stress in some individuals as well. In cases of riots and protests within a nation, between different castes, or let it be even a political tiff between two international countries, a lot can do to a human brain. From hatred to anger to even violence, people tend to react exactly as per the vibe, which leads to lifelong complications in your concepts.

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Media psychology is the term for better clarity of digital media side effects. Well, getting to movies which is another form of sending across an information or let’s call it message, it is critical to human brain on how it has been perceived. Any sensitive form of information creates an illusion that may turn out to be much dangerous than ever thought. Especially kids watching movies of superheroes can consider themselves to be the next spiderman and jumps from a high storey building thinking they can fly. Children apparently are at a too tender age to understand the reality that in real superheroes wear caps and not capes. 

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Social media on the other hand is a completely different world for us humans. You must have often noticed yourself playing four different roles across four difference social media platforms. From LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, one identity can play different characters as per the respective platforms. They way one communicates, posts pictures or even keeps pondering over a page for hours tells a lot about the reason for our frequent change in moods. This is how media works. Social media channels have been designed in way that human behavior can juggle and blend to any character while they’re on it. Although media covers information in a way that oppresses and suppresses our human brain, it is upon us to look at the brighter side. There’s no way we can stop the propaganda and paid coverages or advancements of technology in the social field. The only way to save humans for a better life is to realize if we have fallen victims to the mask of media!