The Bullet Theory Has Shot By
What has a speedy name, treats humans as sheep begging to be led, and is a key communication theory? The Bullet/Hypodermic Theory. This theory is said to be like a magic bullet which enters the minds of audience and injects a particular message. It explains the control and effects it has on audiences. A key here is that is assumes audiences are powerless to the influences of media.
I see the point of this theory and somewhat agree to its mindless message implantation. Why do I say somewhat? Because mob mentality on media, specifically social media, occurs today. Just look at Trump run for election. But today media is more widespread than standard newspapers, magazines, TV, movies, songs, etc. It often flows through influencers or people of interest. This can cause more false information to be shared, and also a blind faith of information if the audience does not do their research.
I am more resistant to media influence because of conscious effort and media burnout. I have studied who is behind certain media outlets (such as CNN, Fox, PBS, etc.) and am conscious of what I absorb from each outlet. I find that I am often receiving my news from several opinion leaders I trust to disseminate the information. This is done through social media, newsletters, podcasts, and speaking one-on-one. Part of this is the overwhelming wave of information (I am not the only one that feels this! Only 32% of young people enjoy their news). I tend to get burnout from the amount of news thrown at me, especially bad news. I would prefer to have my information filtered to my interests and come through a trusted source (that I trust to have fact checked the information). I follow what many people of my generation do and my weekly habit is to get most of my information from social platforms (its not the only one, just the most consistent). One of these filters is for good news. One newsletter doing that work is the Goodnewsletter.
