The media wants you scared. They want to trigger you, make you angry and uneasy. Here I explain why and what you can do about it.
Who are the Media?
The media are the communication outlets that proliferate today. Their job is to education, inform and entertain. To a certain extent, they achieve this, some outlets are better than others.
When I talk about the media, I include Television, Radio and Newspapers, especially online. I also include social media because the media outlets I am referring to here, have presences on these platforms.
Media ranges from free to subscription models and from public institutions to private enterprises. They are many and varied, but they have one thing in common; They need your attention, and the dirty secret is the media wants you scared.
What does fear do to you?
Fear causes distraction and a sense of loss of control. If you are distracted and feel like you lack control, then you are more likely to make decisions that are in the interest of the media outlet or their sponsors. More on this later.
Headlines grab attention.
The first object of the mass media is to obtain your attention. This is usually done by some kind of headline. A particular piece will be summarised into half a dozen words, which will stop you in your tracks and make you engage. It’s not your fault, its human nature. We are evolved to look towards danger.
Eyeballs equals captive audience.
Once they have your attention, the piece will be designed to keep you engaged. A snappy headline will be followed by an opening that is designed to draw you into the piece. Each section will keep you engaged and sell the next section. Once you reach the end, you will be prompted to consume the next article or programme. It’s all marketing and in itself is benign, apart from your time spent, which could have been invested elsewhere.
Advertisements
Most Media organisations make their money through advertising or subscription. Their business model requires predictable viewing figures, either because the sponsors will pay for the number of clicks, they receive or because they know their ad will be seen by a certain number of people.
Therefore, once you are engaged in the media channel, the longer they can keep you engaged, the more beneficial to them.
Read more about how advertisers hypnotise you into buying stuff. I will also show you how you can recognise when this is happening and what you can do about it.
Purchases – you buy what they’re selling.
Back to our state of fear, distress or unease. The human condition is such that a person will always seek to ameliorate pain and discomfort. We will do something that will make us feel better. What do we see on our screens (TV, phones & PCs) after we’ve been shown something disconcerting? Advertising. The copy or script of the advert goes along the tried and trusted formula of:
“Are you feeling bad about X, Y, Z? Then purchase our super flippety gib service and product. You’ll feel great.”
In our state of fear, we will whip out our credit card and make the purchase. Or, more sinisterly, the branding will log deep in our subconscious. Feel bad, buy X.
24hr News
Back when I was growing up, the news on TV broadcasted 2 or 3 times per day, per channel. There were only three channels back then. In my naïve pre-teen mind, I was always astounded that there was exactly 30 minutes’ worth of news, going on in the world to fill the schedule. Now of course, that’s not how it works. The programmers (the hint is in the name) had 30 minutes of news airtime to fill. If a lot was going on, then the news was edited down to fill the time. But what if there was not a lot going on?
Here’s what didn’t happen in the early 80’s:
“And now the 6-o clock news from the BBC”.
“Today, nothing of importance happened. At all.”
“We will return tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a nice film about basket-weaving to music.”
No that didn’t happen, mores the pity, because they would find some news. There’s always something bad happening, somewhere. And if not, we can talk about some dreadful things that might happen.
As TV became digital, more TV channels proliferated and we got 24-hour news channels. And they needed to be filled, usually with shocking news. Are there more terrible things happening today versus 40 years ago? No, of course not. But good news doesn’t sell. If you feel good about the world, you don’t buy stuff.
Politicians
Politicians use this fear factor also. They need your votes to stay in power and they need your money, through taxes. They need your money to enact their policies, once they are in power. Fear sells at the ballot box and government departments are looking for more of a share of the budgets.
If you don’t believe me, wait till the next general election. Both sides will use the fear tactic. The incumbents will plant the side of doubt about what the opposition will do once they get in power. The opposition will highlight all the bad things that are happening, and that they will be the solution.
The real solution
I’ve belaboured this point long enough and I feel quite icky just writing about it. So here is a way you can immunise yourself from being manipulated.
No news
Do not watch any news on TV, especially 24-hour news channels and talking head TV/Radio. Do not read any newspapers either print or online. Online news is clickbait. They earn off your clicks. Don’t feed the monster.
Now, you may think you will become uninformed, but I assure you, you will be happier. You will find out about any real newsworthy events. You will become more mindful of your local community news, because your eyes and ears will be open.
Do not consume social media.
If your business model uses social media for marketing and displaying your content, then you may not be able to completely avoid social media. In that case, only use social media for the purpose of content producing. If possible, you can even outsource the re-purposing of your content onto socials. If you do this you will thank me.
Try it for a day.
Quitting News and social media may seem drastic. I would therefore recommend trying it for just one day. Plan this day in advance so that you will not be tempted. Plan to get outside into nature, if you can. Make it a day that you will not need to be contacted via phone, so you can just put your phone away for the day. A long walk in the country is ideal for this.
The day before your media fast, sit and feel how anxious you are. Give yourself a score out of ten. One being zen-chilled to ten being highly anxious. Then that night, hide your devices and remote control.
Then enjoy the day, free from the jabs and prods of the doom-mongers.
At the end of the day, asses your level of anxiety. Did it work? Let me know.