Did You Believe It?
Media. It’s everywhere around us. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Hypodermic Needle Theory, it simply ties back to early days where the use of media and propaganda influenced society. The information that is presented to the public through a wide variety of media outlets, whether that’s billboards, YouTube commercials, or even Instagram posts, still seems to influence society today. The theory claims that larger corporations simply feed the information they want viewers to grasp and the public automatically receives that information. How is this prevalent today? There have been a wide variety of incidents that we can focus on to delve more into the topic and how, I, myself, may or may not have been influenced by these events.
A very iconic moment in the influence of social media has to be what we know as the Fyre Festival. This new festival claimed to be a luxurious music festival with a wide variety of popular performers, along with the interaction of celebrities and models walking around in the Caribbean. To a lot of people, this seemed like a dream. Organizers from this event diligently took their time to make the right connections, having major celebrities, such as Kendall Jenner and other famous models, to promote this event without having any recognition of what it actually was. To their success, it worked! Individuals spent thousands of dollars on tickets only for it be a complete scam, leaving people hungry, with no adequate shelter as promised, and overall a terrible experience.
As a young individual myself, I easily believed this would be a great experience. Luckily, being a college student and still living with parents, I had no intention of even taking a part in this festival, but I can say I was truly surprised when images of the festival being a complete failure rose in the media.
Furthermore, this next event didn’t influence me a whole lot. However, when it came to my 14-year-old nephew, he was very much invested in this topic. Though Area 51 has been part of the history of the Cold War, the association of green little aliens became even more prevalent once an individual created a Facebook event about storming Area 51 to get closer to what they claimed to be “aliens.” Though this originally started off as a joke, individuals believed this event to be true and even went to the extent to actually show up to the base. This is a clear example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory taking place in modern times. Though this was not necessarily information that was created by a larger corporation, but by a single individual, the fact that many believed this to be true proved that today’s society can be easily influenced by what they see on social media.
Lastly, with the new COVID-19 vaccine, it’s very easy to get influenced by the media. This is something that can affect me and based on my own personal research and beliefs I can decide whether or not to believe such media. The, article, “Fauci Says He Had Brief Side Effects From Second Vaccine Dose,” explains the possibility of side effects from this vaccine. For the individuals that aren’t too familiar with this topic, instantly reading the title can influence how they feel about the vaccine without them taking the time to actually read the article. By reading the article, individuals can know that the side effects are normal and the benefits clearly outweigh the side effects.
As media continues to evolve in our everyday world, it is safe to say that the Hypodermic Needle Theory can still be prevalent today. Today’s society still perceives information in a way that really makes them question their own personal beliefs and can possibly influence the way they feel about a certain topic.
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