RE: From Mass Media to the Internet

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RE: From Mass Media to the Internet

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steevc in The City of Neoxian • 10 months ago

It does seem that attitudes to the media and experts has changed in recent years. There are people will millions of followers talking about topics in which they are no real training, but then they may claim that they have broken with the orthodoxy. I have actually watched some of the flat Earth stuff and it is laughable.

I think there are various reasons for this. We have some people who control large amounts of the printed and broadcast media who enjoy the power they wield. I do think there are plenty of journalists who are committed to getting facts out and in some countries they risk their lives doing that. We also have politicians who want to control the news agenda. I do wonder if some of the 'conspiracy' influencers are working on behalf of such politicians. Reducing trust in established media works in their favour.

I have recently encountered a couple of people (one on Hive) who have worked in the health field and now preach that COVID was some sort of conspiracy. They may be good at sounding reasonable, but how representative are their views?

The world seems less simple than when I was young and I feel for the youth of today in figuring it out.

10 months ago in The City of Neoxian by steevc

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godfish 10 months ago

It does seem that attitudes to the media and experts has changed in recent years.

That's likely a confirmation bias - I had little to no awareness of what's happening in certain social bubbles say 10 years ago, yet it is quite hard to not to notice nowadays. It does not necessarily mean it’s a new/emerging trend, it may merely be more noticeable from our (or at least mine) point of view.

I do wonder if some of the 'conspiracy' influencers are working on behalf of such politicians.

Some of them likely do, some of them are genuine conspiracists thouhg. There are books analyzing the Czech conspiracy sphere, but I don't know much about the British or the US ones.

Thanks for your comment, it's almost a post :)

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steevc 10 months ago

Social media has grown exponentially. It used to be just about seeing photos of friends on holiday, but I suspect many people spend more time with it than with mass media.

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godfish 10 months ago

It depends - do you count TV playing as a background at home? Radio when driving or in bars and places? Those are mass media too.

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steevc 10 months ago

True, but what are people watching? Reality shows? I don't actually watch much TV news these days, but I hear some on BBC radio and read a couple of papers.

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godfish 10 months ago

McLuhan (one of the guys mentioned in the post) divides media into "hot" and "cold" ones based on how much of your attention and participation they typically require as it is described here.

But then, it is just one of the theories. Besides, many people pay the same attention to their Instagram or Facebook newsfeeds as others to TV playing in the living room when they do house chores.

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steevc 10 months ago

My other half is often checking her phone whilst watching TV, but with the latter I try to give it my attention. I'm fairly selective about what I watch. I am trying to find some working balance between TV/newspapers, social media and other activities. For one thing I want to read more books (mostly fiction) and I also need to work on my music activities. I do combine my running with listening to podcasts, some of which are on politics. Time is precious.

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