~ Jiya Chopra, Intern
It is widely recognized that our surroundings significantly impact our self-perception and worldview. Our life experiences, familial relationships, and social interactions all shape our perspectives. However, have we ever considered how the media we consume influences us? Why do we experience sadness after watching an emotional film? Why do we feel excited when our favorite team wins the cricket match? Or why do so many people emphasise on reading books to broaden our capability to comprehend complex concepts? It is because the media plays a major role in influencing the way we think and behave. We are highly susceptible to any form of information we receive whether it is books, music, movies, television shows and the upcoming rise of short-form video content.
The psychological aspect of this phenomenon is rooted in the behaviorism school of thought established by John Watson. The behavioristic approach emphasises the role of our external surroundings in our behavior. The infamous Bobo Doll Experiment conducted by Albert Bandura shows the very proof of how the content we consume modifies our actions.
Have you ever finished a book so emotionally charged that you need to take a pause and question the beliefs you already had? We can explore multiple themes through one single book and realise that our thinking process shifted without us even realising it. For example, people who enjoy reading philosophical books, be it fiction or non-fiction are faced with concepts that question their pre-existing notions about life. When faced with such contradiction, it is likely to experience cognitive dissonance, however, the ability to comprehend nuanced information also increases. It might include hesitation to accept, introspection, retrospection of already existing information and combining it all to make sense by the individual. Therefore, people who engage in reading are more open towards understanding concepts that might not align with their beliefs.
We often do not even realise our cognition has altered when we keep consuming content of a similar ideology. It can show up in micro acts towards life that add up to a greater degree of change. For example, a person reading extensively about feminism and oppression enforced on females through patriarchy will be able to identify even the slightest act of misogyny that they previously might have missed.
Human attention span is also affected by the form of media we consume. In today’s day and age, when Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are the most common forms of media consumption by every generation, our attention span has significantly decreased. A 30-second video provides us with instant dopamine that longer tasks feel harder to achieve. Younger generations are relying more on social media for entertainment as well as awareness. A very recent example is the student protest in the national capital at Jantar Mantar. Gen Z relied heavily on Instagram Reels to get live updates on the protest. The algorithm of each profile, working with Artificial Intelligence (AI), provides a self-serving bias to reinforce our pre-existing beliefs by forming an echo-chamber of information.
Can we imagine a life without books? Can we imagine if real time media didn’t exist? How different our knowledge systems would be? The critical thinking skills we utilise in daily life, how more or less evolved would it be? This signifies the importance of choice of content we choose to consume. It is an individual’s responsibility to make sure the media they choose does not implicate any negative response in their behavior. We are all responsible for our own actions.
