Media

The media has been a portal between us and what is going on around us. So, it wouldn’t be of great surprise if it went wild with news following the recent pandemic caused by the coronavirus. We’ve become inclined to the media more than ever. We tune in now and then to see if there is any update. Bearing that in mind, I can’t help but wonder the reason behind all of this. Are we addicted to the news? Heck, are we being controlled by it? 

Before you answer, I want you folks to check yourself and see if you’d been following the news ardently before this unfortunate incident occurred. If so, what have you noticed? Was it about a bombing at a concert? Did you see a bunch of angry citizens violently demonstrate and get tear gas thrown at them? Did it talk about how big of a threat Islamic fundamentalists have become? If you’ve seen these regularly, congratulations because you now know that you’re a regular news watcher. Now, let’s get to the real part. What impression did you get after reading these headlines? This is a million-dollar question which I’ll leave for you to answer.

I always felt like the world was ending as I watched the news. It went on from reporting terrorist attacks to famine, and finally something talking about global warming. Yeah, you regularly see them talk about politics and other issues, and occasionally dropping some interesting stuff, but something that indicates a potential disaster usually makes it to the headlines. What is the reason behind this? That’s another million-dollar question, looks like somebody’s getting rich!

Although I’m not completely sure, I assume the reason behind the media devouring disaster news is the constant need to get attention, to get viewers. And, if you think about it well, news wouldn’t be tuned if it were to just report ordinary content. As the saying goes, “The news should be about a man biting a dog, not the other way around.” The people want something that would grab their attention. If an article were to be about the mediocrity people face daily, nobody would even bother to waste time reading it. Taking it from this, we can say that people tune in to the media to add a little bit of adventure to their lives.

Okay, if we’re able to talk about one of the basics of human psychology, we can shift our paradigm to something else. Let’s take a trip to a place called Off-Topic and let’s talk about the Twenty-First Century. I think anyone who knows history can agree that this is probably the least violent timeline humans have lived in. Negotiations are now prioritized over wars, lawsuits are preferred instead of trying to settle disputes by gunshots, and a lot of previously oppressed groups’ rights are granted. Do media outlets tell us this, though? I haven’t seen anything so far. What would happen if they did? Nobody would tune in the media. Now I want everybody to analyze something. There is a constant increase in the number of media stations as time passes. Writing articles is so easy now, that anyone could do it by paying some cash and starting a blog. Thus, is the increase in media coincidental?

It could or could not be. But there is one thing we should know before we jump to any conclusion. Even though our society has become less physically violent, the internet has become a platform for, well, basically everything. As gold had its value before, the internet is a lifeline to everything now. As gold used to feed mouths, the internet now feeds minds, and that food happens to be information. Information, on the other hand, could intrigue or disappoint. Having this in mind, media outlets exploit the constant human craving for intriguing information by giving something that would take the attention of people. This is not the end of the story, though, as there is also one thing the human mind wants – diversity. We do not idealize getting stuck watching only one channel all day. We want different news about different places, about different topics. Not to forget that this need has aggravated ever since the information era. So, the different channels and outlets provide to our wants yet again and eventually profit from them. This is the business side.

Okay, kids, now that we have thoroughly analyzed the business end of the table, we now face a sudden wave of emptiness as we’ll feel like there is no other reason or motive behind this mass exploitation. Well, now is the time we go to the mental gym and start exercising our minds. Our first set will be the emo deadlift. This will help us strengthen the back of our heads. Okay, this is how we do it. First, we stop panicking. Then, we all grab a drink, anything but alcohol and soda will do. Finally, we sit down and read my article. What is the residual material the news leaves after giving us the information we devour? Fear. In what subset do we label fear? Emotions. Great job, everyone! Now that we know that fear is an emotion, we can now go to the next level. Now, I want everybody to take some time and list things that people could take advantage of. After you have brainstormed, check if control is in one of your lists. If not, write it down in your notebook (I’m assuming you have been taking notes till now). We tend to be easily swayed into things when we are feeling a certain level of emotions to an extent that’s high enough to temporarily shut down our rational thinking. Building from this, it will be very safe for me to say that the media can and may control us using the flaw we have. That’s why, every time we read something that’s out of the ordinary, we feel something, and we feel the urge to believe it. Even if it’s something we don’t want to face, we will still accept it despite the pain it causes.  It’s pretty simple for us to understand what we’ll feel when we believe some disaster is happening – fear. As we’ve mentioned before, the media exaggerates stuff, thus making us feel elevated levels of fear. As we grow used to, even fed up, with this statement, we make our next move. This mental exercise would be making nuisances out of ourselves and starting to ask pivotal questions. Is there any point the media would like to prove? If so, what is it? Is it the business side we have understood? Or is it because there is something the media is trying to get out of this?

As more time passes by in this never-ending quarantine, I have become closer to the idea that there is a message the government is trying to pass on to us. And, no, we will not be talking conspiracy theories, don’t even think about it. As we go through this assessment, we will only be using logical speculations to get to our point. Could the media be using exaggerated fear factors on purpose so that they could control our minds? If so, why? We’ve previously said that we tend to be controlled when we are emotional. This works most when we are afraid. How, you say. It’s quite simple, to be honest. When we are afraid, we feel as though we need someone who’s wearing a cape and spandex to fly down from the sky and save us. And who happens to take advantage of this? You’re correct! It is the government. The government will create its cult where it’s the almighty hero. If that’s true, could the media collaborate with the government to try and achieve this task? I mean, the media is under some control of the government despite its level of independence. 

If, it’s a big if, what we have stumbled upon is true, it means there is something we should do. I’m not saying we should be heroes. We’re not going to start a guerilla warfare and overthrow the government.  Because if we did that, we would be of the same manipulative quality government possesses. The only thing we know we could change is our mindset towards things. First up, we should avoid our excessive subscription to news. Since we have much time on our hands, we should try to do things that would exercise our minds. These could be developing a good reading habit if we don’t have it now, having faith, exercising, and most importantly, not getting easily swayed by everything the government says. Whatever the outcome, we are measured by the strengths we possess. So, let’s try and work on ourselves before we end up being part of the herd of sheep wearing face masks. I hope we wake up from the illusion we may be in.