How Media Has Influenced Modern Society
The Hypodermic Needle Theory, which is also known as the Magic Bullet Theory, is a theory based on the power that the media has over an audience. The message in this theory is compared to a magic bullet which enters the mind of an audience and injects a specific message. This theory details the effects that the media has on what an audience views, and how it can control their instincts and reactions.
The words bullet and needle are used to show the powerlessness of the audience as media impacts public opinion and behavior change. The theory was also influenced by media behaviorism of 1930s (Bajracharya, 2018). Ultimately, this theory helps understand whether an individual is vulnerable or resistant to media influence.
I believe that in today’s modern world and the constant evolvement of the media as well as presence and growth of social media, many things have changed in the past few years and media has become almost unavoidable. Social media has become widely utilized, the advertising industry has increased its presence, and mass media has directly influenced individuals either in a positive or negative way.
Humans are being fed information from hundreds of platforms, and they subconsciously and selectively believe what they want to believe rather than what is true. Messages injected can have the desired response which can cause problems and destruction or rule and uniformity (Bajracharya, 2018). This theory explains that a single piece of information can subconsciously change the opinions of a person. While the media has continued to evolve and I am present on multiple social media platforms, I certainly have fallen into media influence, however, I don’t consider myself fully vulnerable.
There are so many examples of how the media has clouded the minds of individuals. Most of the human population completely depends on the media for information in our current cultural landscape. Individuals trust the media for entertainment, news, education, and information. Another example of this, is how individuals will read and listen to the media and ultimately believe everything that they see or hear. The most powerful example of how individuals fall into the Hypodermic Needle Theory is that they believe that media outlets are unbiased and independent. Many humans in modern society depend on the media to live their day-to-day lives and even allow the media to have power over their personal relationships. This shows the power of the Hypodermic Needle Theory and how the media is able to insert itself into the minds of its audience.
