Grey Matters
In the following clip you’re about to see an excerpt from Joe Rogan’s recent podcast with cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, of who is someone that I and many other perceive to be one of the most influential psychologists over the last two decades. In the clip Pinker describes the psychological effect known as the negativity bias. I feel this to be particularly pertinent as of late in Australian media, as we have seen a large increase in the types of negative media which has been published. A perfect example of this has been the propagation of a narrative of youth violence in Victoria, and stories relating to youth online safety.
Overall, it can help to explain the reasons why media continues to present negative stories as the forefront of their coverage, that being that they are well aware of the negativity bias phenomenon, and use it to influence their audience in a way that garners them viewership, and the subsequent revenue which will follow. Furthermore, we can also see the way in which it can and certainly has been used, to manufacture consent. This obviously being a term formulated by Noam Chomsky, to describe the way governments and special interests use media to influence the sentiments within the public, to allow them to pass legislation and carry out actions which they desire.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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