Is there a solution to the damaging effects of the media?
We all know too well that the dystopian realm of the media can be an infuriating, dangerous place.
Regularly I find myself having to take a break from the toxicity of certain platforms. The opinions shared leave a weight on my shoulder as though I need to try and shake the ignorance out of every single person; anyone who shares their outdated, offensive and sometimes damaging views and imposes them on anyone who is unfortunate enough to come across it.
Over the last couple of weeks all forms of media have been ruthless, specifically with their treatment of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry. But the hate is not limited to them.
Torment has been rife in the media just recently, with many falling victims to the savage bullying that media sites allow. In truth, it would be near on impossible for all social media sites to stop every single case of online abuse (although they could try a bit harder).
But that is the problem: too many people are comfortable with this type of behaviour and even see it as their right to suffocate others with it.
People can blast whatever opinion they like on any site they wish and justify it as their ‘freedom of speech’.
Constant trolling and destructive opinions come across my screen daily. This really does take its toll – whether the comments are aimed directly at you or not.
Anything can go viral nowadays and it is common for racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic remarks to mostly go unchecked and for all to consume. And the list goes on…
It is truly exhausting.
Are social media sites the main culprit?
It is undeniable that most social media platforms allow an abundance of malicious and dangerous comments to fester.
These malignant words are able to incite very real problems in the real world.
For instance, Donald Trump, at the time the President of the United States, encouraging a treacherous riot on the Capitol building through twitter.
And it was only then after this ‘crime of terrorism’, as prosecutors labelled it, and five deaths, that twitter banned the disgraced President from its platform.
It is also worrisome the amount of deaths by suicide that are caused by social media. People will spread awareness for this distressing cause and then proceed to spread hate the very next day.
In addition this destructive endemic that is allowed to uncontrollably grow, we then have the unhealthy effects of being forced to look in on peoples lives through a rose tinted glass.
Instagram is the worst for perpetuating an ‘idealistic’ yet unrealistic perception of peoples lives and what others should look up to.
It is common for people of all ages to desire to be an influencer as that is the main thing that instagram promotes. It cannot be escaped as the algorithms on the app reward influencers posts by ranking them higher in peoples feeds and explore pages due to the engagement they have with their audience.
Therefore we are mostly shown a desired lifestyle that is dangerously sought after. Most posts are heavily filtered, photoshopped and only show the best moments of people’s lives such as their holidays and glamorous events.
Despite this well known fact, a lot of people- especially easily influenced young people, will do anything to follow the trends. This can even mean resorting to desperate measures that can result in extreme consequences such as eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
All of this to reach this distorted ‘goal’.
I could go on and on about the damaging effects of social media, but I believe it is important to recognise the knock on effect that print news has on society too.
This may be the most influential part of the media, with stories provoking peoples emotions and then having the ability to implement views that work best for the companies and advertisers that create them.
The ‘Hypodermic needle theory’ may not be entirely true, but a lot of people are influenced by the views and opinions that are pushed on to them by those who inform them of what is going on in the world.
Nobody will ever know the whole truth of a situation, as seen recently with Harry and Meghan’s predicament, but it is common for people to make up their minds with whatever information they are given — especially when it is force fed to you by every form of media in the country.
It is undoubtedly true that some news outlets are biased and support a certain view, and they will not go against investors and big firms like the Royal family. Perhaps this is in fear of what the consequences will be, but mostly because this aligns with their own traditional outlook.
With this in mind, it is difficult to say what part of the media influences us as society the most, but it is indisputable that the media as a whole has the ability to distort our perception of things and have a detrimental effect on all of us.
But how can we fix this ongoing issue?
As previously mentioned, it is practically impossible for media sites to police every single nasty comment as there is an influx of them every minute of the day.
The way forward would be to educate anyone around you in anyway that you can. Even if you think it won’t make a difference it is important to call out toxic behaviour and stand up for people – especially if they’re not in a position to do it for themselves.
Granted, there will always be people in the world who’s minds live in the past; ‘stuck in their ways’ as people would use as an excuse for them. But it is imperative that we, as a diverse society, come together to break the cycle of hate that can be passed down through generations.
If it is impossible to break through somebody’s adamant attitude — to transform their distorted perception on how the world should be and the rules different people should follow, then do not put yourself in danger (physically or mentally) to do so.
It even makes a tremendous difference to just try and better yourself.
Do not allow yourself to just take things at face value because usually things are much more complicated than that.
Ensure you do your research before you come to your own conclusion on what your opinion is and always think to yourself ‘what is the reason behind why this particular person is saying this particular thing?’.
Move away from those poisonous values and choose to follow your own path.
Happiness depends upon ourselves. -Aristotle
In the end, a toxic mindset is self-destructive. And you are better than that.
