The idea of “news” is quickly becoming unimportant. I think the most critical aspect has become the media, regardless of what is being represented. True Enough speaks a bit about how news personalities are just that, personalities. The fact that they might be playing an idiot on television does not mean that they are, they are just trying to appeal to their audiences. Appealing to specific targeted audiences, in fact. Apparently, people are responding to the polarization of “news”, if we can even thus label the constant surges of information. Our bias never leaves us, then, and the lens through which we see the world also carries over to the information we ingest. The idea of selective exposure is not limited to the public sphere, I think its influence is felt everywhere. I see myself out in the real world, consuming, shopping, however you want to qualify it, looking at entire shelves of items, and somehow only being able to see brands/items I’ve been thinking about before- items that perhaps I see myself buying for the simple fact that I’ve been told about them, maybe, or want to be the sort of person who buys such items. Media is overwhelming. The possibility for so much information causes many people to shut down, I think, and this further encourages the fact that people stay in their media comfort zones. It isn’t so much that everyone makes a conscious effort to not consider another view point, but we make an effort to focus on what we easily see ourselves interested in.
No comments:
Post a Comment