Bullet Proof? How Mass Media influences People in 2021.
In the study of Mass Media there is a study known as the hypodermic needle theory/ magic bullet theory. The magic bullet theory is a linear \model of communication which assumes audiences perceive messages from the media in the same fashion. If you subscribe to this belief then you would believe that Media has the power to influence audiences’ decisions, beliefs, and actions. The word bullet in this context refers to the idea that we are being targeted and shot with bullets of information/ beliefs by media.
While it is just a theory and not proven to be true of media it can be hard to believe the validity of this theory during a time when users have such a wide selection in the media they choose to consume. Surely we are all smarter than that to believe everything we are hearing in the media. Or are we? Even though we like to believe that we are smarter than those tactics that seek to persuade and influence us it is hard to avoid being influenced on a subconscious level.
Killer Cops, Covid-19, and Murder Hornets
When looking at the impact of the media, 2020 had no shortage of examples to evaluate. It seemed to be the never-ending year of bad news and conflicts from the widespread outbreak of the Covid-19 to the boiling over of racial injustices aces and police brutality you couldn’t go to any source of media without being exposed to these issues. It almost seemed like a joke when news outlets added “Murder Hornets” on the list of things we needed to worry about.
So how did the media influence these events? For the most part, these were covered 24/7 (excluding the Murder Hornets, who appeared to come and go depending on how comfortable we felt in the current climate) I don’t think a single person was living in the US or perhaps even the world who wasn’t aware of these. By continually reporting on them, news outlets sought to control how people felt and reacted towards them. For Covid-19 it was sheltering in place, social distancing, and face masks. Even with all of that though there were people who didn’t buy into the problems. We still had a large portion of people who choose to view these issues as “Fake News” and go against what the media was saying.
If we believed in the true magic bullet theory then we wouldn’t see these people who opposed what the media said. Overall I don’t believe it is as extreme as what this theory makes it out to be I find it hard to reject it completely. Instead, I would refer to myself as a product of ricochet theory. Media may be firing bullets directly at the consumer but their messages bounce around a lot more before they finally strike.
