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Mind Over Mass Media
33
Mind over Mass Media
Damisha Chaney
Engl 1301
Questions?
Overview
- Does new forms of media pose a threat to their consumers brain power and moral fiber?
- Is Twitter shrinking our attention spans?
Introduction
Summary
Mass media can affect our minds but not if we have control over what we consume.
There are good and bad effects of mass media.
Effects of Social Media
Mass media may not affect people's intelligence, but depending on the who or what we follow on social media, the amount of mediocre things we consume daily affects us in a major way.
Effects of Mass Media
Self-Control
A lot of people live with anxiety and PTSD, after seeing things like mass shootings, police brutality, and death on social networks. For instance, there was a viral video of a man who pulled a gun out on another man at a Subway because he was wearing a hoodie. After seeing such traumatic events, some people suffer from fear, anxiety, and stress which cause people to be afraid to go out and live everyday life.
Expert Advice
Expert Advice
- Pinker stated the solution to all this would be to develop strategies of self control. He states people should turn off Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets, and put away their phones at dinner time.
- A podcast by Jay Shetty on purpose and he recommends leaving your phone at home to enjoy the presence of your family/spouse and not picking up your phone when you first wake up. He stated instead use that time for yourself, by meditating, going for a morning run or walk, or reciting positive affirmations.
My Advice
My Advice
I believe people should filter the media they consume the best way they can. I did it and I have noticed my anxiety levels have dropped because I'm not scrolling down my timeline to see someone get shot or reading false news. Instead I have filled my social media with credible sources and positive people. So now when I scroll I instead see positivity and real news. I also follow fitness pages and cooking pages, which motivates me with my fitness journey.
Research Process
Research Process
In the article “Mind over Mass Media” Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, contends that social media and other media outlets are not making people less intelligent. He argues that social media is in fact increasing people's knowledge and their access to knowledge at extremely high rates. This is due to the fact that society now have super quick access to information at their fingertips. In 2019 the average person is able to use a smartphone or a laptop to search for an answer to any question. A person can go on YouTube to watch videos on how to create things, cook things, understand things, learn things, etc. The knowledge of the internet is unlimited.
Social Media Misconception
Social Media
Misconception
Pinker further states that the belief that social media does pose a threat to consumers brain power and moral fiber is a misconception. He states in the article “ if electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting. Yet discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies, so are other activities in the life of the mind.”
Effects of Social Media
Mass media may not affect people's intelligence, but depending on the who or what we follow on social media, the amount of mediocre things we consume daily affects us in a major way. It has become an obstruction to a large mass of people. A lot of people live with anxiety and PTSD, after seeing things like mass shootings, police brutality, and death on social networks. For instance, there was a viral video of a man who pulled a gun out on another man at a Subway because he was wearing a hoodie. After seeing such traumatic events, some people suffer from fear, anxiety, and stress which cause people to be afraid to go out and live everyday life.
Effects of Social Media
More Effects
Effects
of
Social Media
Social media affects the way we communicate on a daily basis. People wake up and go to sleep on social media on their phones. Social media also affects the way we interact with each other. For example, most people in today’s society do not enjoy talking on the phone, they would rather text. Instead of people interacting with each other in a public setting people would rather be on their phones tweeting about what's around them instead of talking to the people around them. Statistics show that people have more online friends than real life friends. Moreover, mass media has a major effect on the way some people think and perceive others in the world, causing lots of people to be biased.
Positive Effects of Social Media
Positive
Effects
Conclusion
Therefore, Mass media can affect our minds but not if we have control over what we consume.
- Limit the time you spend on social media
- Follow positive pages
- Follow pages you can learn from
- Unfollow pages that bring bring negative energy.