Media in Society 

Introduction

We all know the feeling of opening social media thinking we’ll only look at it for a couple of minutes and before you know it an hour has passed. This is exactly what social media platforms want. They design algorithms to keep you engaged for the longest amount of time possible for one reason. The longer you spend on their platform, the more ads they sell which makes them more money. To keep you engaged, they use these algorithms to identify what you want to see. They study what type of posts people like and how long they look at them so that the platform is able to give them more of that media. This makes certain types of media rise to the top while other media gets buried. While people believe social media has made information more public, this effect proves that it has actually made information more closed off. 

When people think of popularity in terms of social media, it is usually whether they are getting more likes than their friends but the most problematic part of social media popularity is what ideas are shared and reposted more. The fact that these corporations are driven by profit encourages them to spread the more popular or entertaining ideas the same way newspapers used to print the most eye-catching headlines. When these ideas are the only version of the world users see, they start to believe it and adopt those points of view. This in turn removes their free thought as they begin to only believe what they are seeing on social media. The effects of this can be devastating because it can change all aspects of their lives and others. The information that they see online can change how they spend their free time, who they hang out with, or even who they vote for.

Newspaper companies made money when people bought their paper, thus their goal was to sell as many newspapers as possible. This encouraged the companies not to create the most honest product but the product that would be most appealing to the consumers. Edward Herman briefly talks about this in his book Manufacturing Consent when he says, “Media news people, frequently operating with integrity and goodwill, are able to convince themselves that they choose and interpret news objectively.” (2) Here he is saying that these people have been reporting for so long that they have convinced themselves that they are being unbiased when in reality they know they are just selling a product. They don’t want to admit to themselves that the stories they write about and get published are chosen based on what will sell most, not what is most important. 

Similarly, if a news company isn’t big enough, no one will read their articles. In Manufacturing Consent, Herman says, “thus the first filter - the limitation on ownership of media with any substantial outreach by the requisite large size of investment - was applicable a century or more ago, and it has become increasingly effective over time.” (4) He perfectly outlines the fact that without a lot of money or a large viewership, you don’t have a voice. This encourages news outlets to prioritize stories that are eye-catching and will sell as opposed to those that are the most true. The final filter for news outlets is their relationship with the government. Herman states, “another structural relationship of importance is the media companies’ dependence on and ties with the government. The radio-TV companies and networks all require government licenses and franchises and are thus potentially subject to government control or harassment. ” (13) This could’ve left the news stations at the mercy of the government as they had the power to revoke their license or deny their application to renew it once it expired. This power would make the news outlets feel more inclined to report stories that presented the government in a good light since they would want to maintain a good relationship with the government. This in theory could've even led to news outlets simply not reporting bad events that involved the government. These many factors led to newspapers not reporting the whole truth and people believing they lived in a fictional world. 

Clodagh O'Brien, describes the algorithms that are used on social media sites in their article titled “How Do Social Media Algorithms Work?” He says, “it's a way for social networks to prioritize content they think a user will like based on a number of factors.” This quote perfectly states the purpose of social media algorithms. These algorithms are used every second on every site, they’re inescapable. These algorithms have the ability to control every aspect of a user's online experience and at times can even manipulate their thoughts. If for instance a user constantly sees patriotic videos and militaristic content, that will begin to be the way they view the world and their country. These algorithms combine with the time that teenagers spend online, have the ability to completely determine or change their political views and beliefs. 

Much like newspapers a couple of decades ago, this removes the teenagers' free thought and replaces it with whatever the company desires to make them more money. They share the same issues because the same companies are expanding. Herman stated in his book that, “this trend toward greater integration of the media into the market system has been accelerated by the loosening of rules limiting media concentration. … There has also been an abandonment of restrictions” (8) This quote demonstrates how an attempt to gain more viewers has led to a lack of governing on media. They revoked several laws on what is and isn’t allowed to be published in newspapers as a way to get more people to buy them and now they’re doing the same thing with social media regulations. If they aren’t confined by these restrictions, they have complete control over what is published. They can now put out whatever they think people want to hear instead of what’s actually going on because they have no incentive other than money. The politicians that vote to remove these restrictions than make a ton of money off of their stock price rising, making them never want to change their minds. Both the companies and the politicians that enable them are driven by profit and nothing can come between them or change their minds. 

The user doesn’t have to be the one insinuating it though as Jackson also described the way that these algorithms can be manipulated to integrate people into this cycle of militarism. She said, “the underlying mechanisms that shape the messaging on social media … can be manipulated to emphasize particular understandings of national security associated with militarism.” This quote directly says that social media algorithms can be manipulated to promote any idea the individual or corporation wants. This is crucial to understanding what you are watching and thinking about why it is on your phone. At the end of the day, these corporations want to make as much money as possible off each user and will therefore give you whatever they think will keep you entertained. What people don’t see is that over time they can decide what keeps you engaged. They can ease you into a cycle of content surrounding a particular idea like militarism. Most people don’t realize this because, at times, you don't even realize it’s there. 

A good example of this is the National Football League. (NFL) In the documentary Behind the Shield, they describe how something as widespread as football can subconsciously promote militaristic ideas. In the documentary, they stated both obvious and more subtle examples of this saying, “What does the NFL stand for? Masculinity, strength, and toughness.” While this may not be a shock to most, it builds a foundation for what viewers want to watch. Given that the majority of teenage boys watch football, it can subconsciously make them more entertained by ‘tough’ and ‘masculine’ things. This can shape the way teenagers, boys primarily, believe they should act. If they are watching people crash into each other and announcers are idolizing them, those teenagers will want to act like and eventually promote the same ideas because athletes are so looked up to. They go on to say, “the NFL more than any other American sport has explicitly built its brand on complex images and messages that help shape dominant ideas about patriotism, militarism, and war.” Whether it is military aircraft flying over the stadium or the army navy game, you can find the military just about anywhere in the NFL. There are almost always soldiers on the sidelines watching games. This quote demonstrates that when an idea as large as militarism is connected to a brand as popular as the NFL, its approval will be astronomical. It will be nearly impossible to beat and with so many people watching, everyone will be forced into taking in the ideas. These two ideas create a compounded effect on teenagers, integrating them into a system without their knowledge. 

Conclusion

The creation of social media changed the way we access information but not the information itself. If anything, social media has made it easier to manipulate users due to the lack of restrictions. Most are unable to see the effects that social media is having on them because it’s working so well. Instead of realizing that their emotions and beliefs are being changed, they see a video that makes them feel happy or proud. No one stops to question why it makes them happy, they just continue scrolling to the next post. This is a result of the system of profit that we have all been forced into. A system that promotes manipulation and taking advantage of the consumer to make a little more money. If teenagers want to get their freedom of thought they need to be more cautious of the information that they consume online and limit the time they spend on social media. Otherwise, we will lose our free thought and our society will fall victim to whatever the people in power want it to be.