Mean world syndrome
Mean world syndrome is a concept in cognitive theory and media studies that describes a phenomenon where individuals exposed to high levels of violent media content perceive the world as more dangerous than it statistically is. Coined by George Gerbner in the 1970s, this theory emerged from his extensive research on the impact of television on societal perceptions during his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communications. Gerbner's work, particularly the Cultural Indicators Research Project, highlighted that heavy consumers of television—those watching over three hours daily—are more likely to view the world as frightening and unpredictable.
The implications of mean world syndrome extend beyond traditional television to include the effects of social media in the modern era, where narratives can evoke strong emotional responses and biases. Studies suggest that users engaging with social media during significant events may exhibit similar fears and anxieties as those identified in earlier research on television. This phenomenon illustrates how pervasive media consumption can shape societal attitudes and contribute to a culture of fear, impacting political and social perspectives. Understanding mean world syndrome can help individuals critically assess their media consumption habits and its influence on their worldview.
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Mean world syndrome
In cognitive theory and media studies, mean world syndrome is a phenomenon in which people who are exposed to high levels of violent media content form a belief that society is more dangerous than objective statistics would otherwise suggest. The theory of mean world syndrome was first developed during the 1970s by Hungarian-born American communications expert George Gerbner.
Initially, most applications of mean world syndrome focused on violent television programming. In the twenty-first century, however, the theory has shown new relevance in social media.
Overview
Gerbner developed the theory of mean world syndrome while serving as the dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communications. During his career, Gerbner spent decades studying the social impact of television. After Gerbner's 2005 death, the news wing of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) quoted him as saying, "You know, who tells the stories of a culture really governs human behavior. It used to be the parent, the school, the church, the community. Now it's a handful of global conglomerates that have nothing to tell, but a great deal to sell."
The mean world syndrome theory arose directly from a detailed media study known as the Cultural Indicators Research Project, which launched in 1968 under Gerbner's leadership. One of the project's main features was a research database that chronicled shifts in televised content and analyzed how that content influenced the worldviews of television consumers. The database included entries on more than thirty-five thousand TV characters and more than three thousand shows.
The study concluded that people who watch more than three hours of television per day are predisposed to viewing the world as a frightening, unpredictable, and dangerous place. In addition, Gerbner and his research colleagues noted that people who consume large amounts of scripted television tend to believe that violence is a more effective problem-solving tool than reason and that their fearful attitudes about the world make them more predisposed to extreme sociopolitical viewpoints.
In 1981, during an appearance before a congressional subcommittee, Gerbner testified, "Fearful people are more dependent, more easily manipulated and controlled, more susceptible to deceptively simple, strong, tough measures and hard-line measures."
In the twenty-first century, Gerbner's ideas about media influence have been rejuvenated in applications focusing on the cultural and sociopolitical impact of social media. Psychology experts have noted that Internet users tend to engage more robustly with social media when significant events are taking place. During such times, the stories shared via social media platforms have displayed an increasing tendency to evoke biases and induce emotions such as fear and anxiety. Experiments have shown that social media's impact on the way Internet users engage with news cycles generates results similar to those reflected by Gerbner's Cultural Indicators Research Project. Some media and cultural commentators have noted parallels between classical manifestations of mean world syndrome and the effects of social media on major events such as the 2016 US presidential election.
Bibliography
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