Mass Media=Mass Brainwashing

I really dont like the media and the negative effect it has on the community and world at large. Its always so sanctimonious and self righteous in the way it delivers its mostly half truths aswell.
Of late (maybe the last 10-15 years) its been ramped up quite a few notches and we now have news 24/7 which I dont find any more helpful in any way.
If you read the papers or watch the daily news you will see mostly a lot of negative stuff ie-wars, starvation, murders, crime, disasters, inhumanity etc etc.
I often ask myself "how is this helpful for me to keep seeing all this negative shit?" The answer is a resounding "Its not".
I dont think we should all be ostriches and stick our heads in the sand and ignore the worlds issues but I also dont think people need to be bombarded with negativity constantly. In my opinion it doesnt help the situation it just kind of paralyses people. They throw their hands up in the air and think "whats the use, I cant do anything"
If the media had its way it would have us all believe that things are getting worse, crime is rising, there are more natural disasters than ever before etc. But in reality the world isnt much different at all. We just look at that stuff as it happens way more often and so it just appears worse.
Its like a massive cognitive distortion. If you focus on something negative it can become magnified in your mind and take over all thoughts which can lead to feelings of powerlessness and depression.
The same can be said for positive. Focus on it and watch it grow. Focusing on negativity all the time can be like a self fulfilling prophecy. We become what we think, what we say, what we focus on.
Unfortunately negativity and sensationalism sells more papers, gets more hits online, gets higher ratings on the tv and gets politicians more votes. Its pretty sad.

 

Agreed

 

definitely. the news shows stupid shit just cuz they need to keep broadcasting.
the brainwashing is why i hate tv. notice music when watching something and how the director/producer of the show is just trying to evoke these thoughts. but once you notice them its so fuckin dumb. or how they cut out footage just for the sake of putting together one opinion.
those court case/crime shows are the absolute worse

and youre very right about the focus thing.

 

brainwashing on many levels the programs are programming you...
with that said i still watch some funny shows..too bad

 

TV news is geared to attract viewers so the networks can sell advertising - plain and simple - it's all about money. If you are one of the informed people and know what is actually going on, then you will discover that the TV news is quite comedic, and entertaining, as they try to put different spins on events to change reality. You will also see that some REAL news is just ignored, as myths are expounded upon as if they were truths. If I can catch the evening news, I can miss Leno, as I've had my comedy for the day!

 

I cant remember the last time I bought a news paper, living between two countries and two cultures I have seen the lies and propaganda of both.They only show you what they want you to see, scaremongering all the way, good post

 

Oh for certain. It's just a tool used by those who control the wealth to further control the population.

In addition to being fed negative info, you're also constantly fed ads that promote the idea of material as promoting happiness. So people feel crappy and feel like if they go pick up x y or z things will be better.

 

It helps to keep the Sheeple passive and malliable to the agendas of the "Movers & shakers" within a given society.

Very Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-d for the health of the free thinking mind

But I have to admit, a good episode of Family Guy or American Dad is hard to pass up.

Fringe knocks my socks off too.

 

I do succumb to the dangers of hulu once in a while, and have a netflix account, so I definitely still get media. I keep my news consumption to a few websites and don't have cable. seems to work out ok. Wish I read more books though. definitely need to do more reading. Though if I counted time researching online there is a LOT of reading that happens, just not much in books at the moment...

 

Corporate-owned news mass communication media — print, radio, television — are businesses subject to commercial competition for advertising revenue and profit. As such, their distortion (editorial bias) of news reportage — i.e. what types of news, which items, and how they are reported — is consequence of the profit motive that requires establishing a stable, profitable business; therefore, news businesses favoring profit over the public interest succeed, whilst those favoring reportorial accuracy over profits fail.
Editorial distortion is aggravated by the news media’s dependence upon private and governmental news sources. If a given newspaper, television station, magazine, et cetera, incurs governmental disfavor, it usually is subtly excluded from access to information (news); as a result, its competitors receive biased, preferential access. Consequently, the excluded news medium loses readers, viewers, and subscribers, hence its market-place business-leadership when it loses advertisers — the primary income sources. To minimize such financial danger, news media businesses editorially distort their reportage to favor government and corporate policies in order to maintain revenues and increase profits.

 

I agree with all the above, and essentially Mass Media = Bullshit!

 

supebowl.. tune in, turn on and drop out...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4K2uBI61z4"]YouTube- Noam Chomsky On Corporate Propaganda

 

Yeah the end doesn't always seems to justify the means ehhh? What a shitty industry.

 

That and the orange box and other videos games and even some of the thing on the computer a great forms of brainwashing if you think about it lol

But yes the media is in control of almost everything lol

edit- and according to my orange box playing i love being brainwashed lol

 

LOL gotta find a giant glove hand with some face paintings ...WOOOOO SAINTS Lol

 

People tend to sit back and passively accept the news when they should be filtering the information they receive and decide for themselves whether or not its valuable and reliable.

 

Quite an old article but relevant: http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm

 

Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high

Checka, checka, check it out
They load the clip in omnicolour
Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time
Sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz
And mutha fuckas lost their minds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TDgkOOlbwg"]YouTube- RATM - Bullet in the Head

Just about that, man. Media can ensalve us.

 

I do not agree wit the OP

There is no conspiracy. Every person's point of view is narrow and limited. This is why the news ,by definition, is always bias and limited. Human situation is always complex , there is no way to represent the fullness of the situation. The internet allows us to look at different point of view and make our own judgement, taking in mind that we will never see the full picture .

The media can enslave us only if we let it. But that is not the media's fault, it's our fault. Just like we can become slaves to TV, masturbation, relationship, food , work etc...