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Komi Afetse
ENG 111-10
Dr. Page
April, 25, 2016
The Power of Media
Today, with the development of new information and communications technology, the
world has become, according to the expression of Marshall McLuhan: "a global village." The
media are key players in this globalization. Media are means of communication and
information dissemination. Thanks to the media, it is possible to learn about the latest news
around the world no matter where you are. Since media control information, they have the
ability to decide what will be or will not be disseminated. Media, therefore, distort the reality
shown to the public, thus stultifying the masses. However, the media promote freedom of
expression, allowing people to make their voices heard through means such as the Internet,
social networks, etc. Hence, the media awaken people's conscience on abuses and inequalities
in society. The question then is: what actually is the power of media? Media have a power of
persuasion and conviction that control peoples mind, habits, and perception of reality.
The power of media is not to force people to do something they do not want, but it
suggests and persuades people to do something. That is to say, the media use the methods of
seduction, to persuade us to do things which we do not necessarily need or we do not have.
For example, through advertising, the media encourage us to consume. Indeed, the ads we
watch on TV, on the Internet, or we listen to the radio, all intended to suggest a choice while
persuading us to make that choice. This is how the media influence peoples decision-making
and peoples habits through the power of suggestion and persuasion. Media suggest people
what they do not need, and made them believe that they are in a great need. Media seduce us.

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Consumers are at all times subject to all forms of attempts to control their minds through the
power of suggestion and persuasion; they will forever be the targets of the machination of
media (Chrysafis).
In the same way, distracting his audience is another strategy used by media to
manipulate people. Apart the dissemination of information, the distraction of people is one of
the purposes of the media. With distractions they provide to people, the media make them
completely addicted. In other words, the media have become like a drug that people cannot
help to use. For example, nowadays, people spend most of their free time on social networks
rather than in real life. from morning to night, people are connected to the internet and social
media; they have become dependent (Gordon). In the words of Nick Bilton writer for the New
York Times: According to Facebook, the companys 1.23 billion users log into the site for an
average of 17 minutes each day. In total, thats more than 39,757 years of our time
collectively spent on Facebook in a single day. Not only that, it is often common to hear
people say: "I have to follow this TV program" or "this is the episode" of such series or reality
TV. Indeed, reality shows or series on television, gossip about celebrities in magazines or on
the radio, became the most popular topics of conversation of people. Thus, people are
completely under the medias control.
In addition, the media present a pseudo-reality to the public, in order to control and to
stupefy the masses. Indeed, since the media are responsible for the dissemination of
information, they can pick and choose the information distributed, those that will be removed,
or those that will be completely changed. Thereby, the media show a false reality to the
public. The audience is then left in a state of ignorance and then easily manipulated (Parenti
5-7). Propaganda often used by political actors are an illustration of the way that the media
present a false reality to the public in order to control it. Propaganda, mostly used by
demagogues and dictators, aim to convey an ideology through the media to conduct a

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brainwashing of the people and keep it under control. Regardless of whether you get your
politics and news from sources like Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC, someone else's viewpoint is
being drilled into your head. Even if you decide to stay above the rhetorical fray of our
modern political cycles, simple advertisements on network television seek to use and abuse
your opinions as well. There is no escape from media brainwashing (Manipulation of
Media). Ultimately, Media have a great power in the political field.
The power of conviction that has the media is widely used in the political domain.
Indeed, politicians use the media to convey their message and have the support of the
population. Thanks to the media, politicians decide what the public should know or not know
while highlighting what benefits them. Therefore, politicians manipulate the population
through the media. This reality is clearly shown by Sarah OLeary in her article:
politicians and action groups can spread untruths in full view on news programs and through
advertising for all to see without any negative repercussions. We couldn't have learned this
lesson more fully than we did with the now infamous reporting of Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction. The results of such misinformation, widely distributed by a mostly unquestioning
media, have been world changing. If we allow the same principles of misdirection to be
applied to the race for the most important political office in the world, we risk having the
American people make decisions based on airwave truth-lies. Also, during election votes, the
media play a very important role. It is the media that convinces people to choose this or that
party. For instance, in the USA, Fox news is perceived as republicans main source of
information and MSNBC for the democrat party.
Conversely, people who disagree, claim that the media inform the public about what it
ignores or what it has to know. In fact, the media awaken the conscience of people about the
problems they themselves ignore. So the media has the ability to mobilize and organize
people around a cause or a common vision, in order to learn them, what is good for them. As

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an illustration, the several campaigns are done by media as part of the promotion of women,
the respect for human rights, health promotion, etc. But, the mobilization of people by the
media is another strategy to easily take control of the minds of these people. In fact, it is
easier to persuade a crowd rather than just one man. We all know that the crowd does not
think, it just reacts (The art of manipulation).
Moreover, the media give the people the freedom to speak, to be heard. The media thus
allow those who feel isolated in society, to find a place in it. Most of the time, teens feel
misunderstood and neglected, as if they did not have their place in society. But thanks to
social media, teens have found a refuge where they can share easily their ideas and their
history; a world where they can be heard (Goodyear). However, the media make these people
completely dependent. This fact is clearly revealed by Nick Bilton in his article: Like a virus
slowly invading its victim, social media has methodically started to consume every hour of
my day. Morning coffees, lunchtime breaks, time before bed, was once cordoned off for
books, or even just quiet moments of reflection. Hence, people spend more time on social
media or on the internet, in order to escape problems of real life. The lives of these people are
found to be under the control of the media.

Furthermore, the media have the power to

denounce inequality and abuse in the world, thus awakening the consciousness of people on
these inequalities and abuses. Nevertheless, the media turn a blind eye on some inequalities
and abuses, so as to keep people under control.
What is a human being without his free will? Humans beings are nothing, when their
choices, their habits, and their vision of reality are influenced. Today, our decisions and our
habits are influenced by the media. Even our perception of reality is under the control of
media. We are manipulated by the media. Indeed, the media suggest people choices and then
persuade or convince them to make those choices. This is the power of media. Now people
must be aware of this notorious influence, this manipulative aspect of media. Therefore, they

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must be able to put things in perspective, be alert, and make decisions after a constructive
analysis.

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Works cited
Bilton, Nick. Reclaiming Our (Real) Lives from Social Media. nytimes.com. 2016 The New
York Times Company, 16 July 2014. Web. 10 April 2016.
Goodyear,

Samantha.

The

Power

of

Social

Media.

huffingtonpost.com.

2016

TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 01 July 2014. Web. 05 April 2016.

Gordon, Benjamin. Social Media Is Ruining Everything. huffingtonpost.com. 2016
TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 11 May 2015. Web. 10 April 2016.
"Manipulation of the Media." University Wire, Oct 07 2013. ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
O'Leary, Sarah. "Media Regulation Is Necessary to Promote Fair Political Campaigns."
Political Campaigns. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing
Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Deregulated Media and Our Endless Campaign 'Silly Season,'."
The Huffington Post. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
Parenti, Michael. "Methods of Media Manipulation." The Humanist 57.4 (1997): 5-7.
ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
"The Art of Manipulation." Daily Times, May 24 2014. ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
"Vanishing Cyprus: Mass Media and Manipulation." Cyprus Mail, Jun 06 2010. ProQuest.
Web. 17 Apr. 2016.