We gain knowledge and information from the media, whether it be by videos, articles, messages, posts, etc. While this can be a great way to spread the word fast, most of the time this information is very inaccurate and misleading. Reporters tend to use their opinion as a source for a story that is supposed to be truthful and give only facts. However, they deliver the message clouded by their personal thoughts and only report based on what they know instead of actual research. I want to educate you on the harms of media bias and the ways in which you can avoid biased information all together.
Obviously, media bias gives you distorted images of what is actually happening in the real world. Did you know you could be intentionally reading biased content without knowing it? When you constantly consume opinionated media that matches your thoughts, you begin to seek out agreeable media. The tendency to search for information that confirms your beliefs is called confirmation bias (wikipedia.org). This can be super harmful because you will never consume factual media and lose the ability to haves diversified thoughts. Confirmation bias can come from a fear of being wrong and can be intensified by strongly opinionated articles that you may agree with. On the other end, as an author, confirmation bias can be even more harmful. Constantly writing heavily biased articles can lead to misinformation and limited viewpoints. This can lead an author to be labeled as misinformed, a bad writer, a liar, among other bad labels. This in turn can discredit your abilities.
Another harm of media bias is the negative societal outcomes such as group polarization(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Group polarization is the tendency of group to adopt more extreme attitudes than initial attitudes of members (helpfulprofessor.com). Social media induces this by bringing people with similar ideas all together in one place. This can be harmful because you start to become engulfed with only one singular mindset. This causes irrational decisions, lack of identity, stereotypes, and more.
In addition to this, media bias can cause intolerance of dissent (ncbi.gov). Intolerance of dissent is the inability to hear or tolerate opinions and mindsets that may differ from your own (wikipedia.org). This is a huge disturbance because you need to be able to hear others’ viewpoints even if you disagree, in order to be a productive member of society. Differing opinions help you to see and understand all perspectives and an array of different conversation pieces. Not being able to see other people’s views on any level is called being a closed-minded individual. A close-minded individual refuses to ever admit that they are wrong, unwilling to explore new things, and often can’t be around people unless they share their ideologies. This can all stem from media bias and confirmation bias!
On top of this, another harm of media bias is political segregation (ncbi.gov). Political segregation is the deep rooted and strict separation of those of different political parties (wikipedia.org). Political segregation has been significantly made worse of the years by ‘media wars’ and will only continue to worsen. This segregation interrupts many communities’ cohesiveness and ability to leave peacefully. It separates socioeconomic classes, urban from rural, races and ethnicities, etc. This type of segregation is harmful and can even cause extreme violence.
Besides these harms, there are negative effects that could possibly be much more detrimental to people’s livelihoods. Media bias can create false narratives and even create stereotypes for some groups of people. For example, last year there was a murder of four college students in Idaho. They are now being called the Idaho four. This was a very shocking and devastating case that was absolutely brutal. The killer was not caught right after the murders. In order to keep up the integrity of the investigation and not compromise any part of it, cops released very little information. However, the media instantly started creating their own narratives based off the little information they had and publicized these stories. The media created theories about the two surviving roommates, neighbors, and frat members being the killer or being involved. These stories made headlines and traveled all around social media. After being through an extremely traumatizing and life-altering event, these kids were accused of murdering their friends/peers. The media tends to bring mostly negative attention to people that don’t deserve it and it’s all based on their personal opinions of the situations. Writer’s sources are also part of the problem when it comes to false narratives. Not only can the writers be biased, but so can they the people they obtain information from. When they ask someone for a story and that person is emotionally invested in the situation, it will be inaccurate. This is why it is so important to filter your media consumption.
Now all the negative effects of media bias have been laid out. Here are the many ways to avoid bias and all the negative effects that may come with it. For one, when reading a story, you should cross-reference all of the information you are reading. This means you should find research on the topic from professionals and look at all the perspectives of the story (lifesmartblog.com). By viewing all sides, you can gain a fuller view of what is actually happening and what all of the information means. Next, you should find a reliable source. You should solidify that all of their information is purely research and not based on the opinions of others. You can do this by viewing their sources, cross-referencing, or researching the writer themselves. This will ensure that you are reading something that is both accurate and educational. Before reading stories from any news sites, check the statistics on them. Go to a reliable website that is statistic based and see which major websites are considered mainstream media. Avoid mainstream media and find sites that are less opinionated and more informational.
Overall, media bias poses a huge threat to our society. It makes us less knowledgeable and truthful, as well as causes major divides amongst us. In order to find the truth, you must be proactive and monitor what media you consume on a daily basis.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9007373/#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20exposure%20to%20biased%20information,decision-making%20%5B15
https://www.wikipedia.org/
https://lifesmartblog.com/2015/05/29/5-ways-to-avoid-media-bias-and-form-your-own-o
Cartoon Credit to Santa Cruz Sentential: Artist and Writer Signe Wilkinson
