Mass media, the ‘sensational message’, and metamorphic truths

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2014.05.005Get rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of mass media’s ability to rapidly spread sensational messages. With the view that the accuracy or truth of the ‘sensational message’ can change, either evolving naturally within our collective perception or through more deliberate ways, this then presents some scenarios in which ever more flexible notions of truth in the future may provide not only challenges but also opportunities. Using different perspectives but always with a bit of lightheartedness, two events that are separated by half a century and a vast expanse of technological advances are presented as lenses with which to examine our collective obsession of the sensational and how this obsession may influence our perspective as well as our subsequent choices. Looking towards the increasingly connected future, the challenges and economic implications of our susceptibility to sensational media are explored so that in the end, the readers will have gained insights on mass media’s power to flex our notions of truth.

Section snippets

Prelude

Rumors and viruses are close cousins, at least from the point of view of network scientists. Epidemic spreading in networks is an area of study that is increasingly becoming important in the age of exponentially increasing connectivity, and analogies between real-world epidemics and virtual epidemics have been the focus of several studies (e.g., Boman and Johansson, 2007, Gewin, 2004). But whereas epidemics caused by biological (or digital) viruses spread without the conscious effort of

Present day—instant communication and viral media

Towards the middle of April 2009, a seemingly unassuming and a bit overweight middle-aged woman stepped into a stage to perform in one of Britain’s most popular talent shows. Amidst prejudice and eye-rolling cynicism from both audience and judges, she performed so far beyond expectations that most of those who viewed the entire event got a good dose of that old ‘don’t judge the book by its cover’ lesson. The impact was so overwhelming that within days, the event was viewed more than one hundred

Mid 20th century—tabloids and sensational journalism

Sometime during the middle of March 1964, a woman was murdered in New York. Although there must have been dozens of murders in that city on that particular day, the apparent circumstances of her murder sparked a national media frenzy on how people have supposedly become callous and uncaring in a gritty industrialized urban environment – a veritable Gotham of the comic books. These were the days before the internet and instant messaging, yet the ‘news’ spread quickly of how the woman was stabbed

The near future—virtual worlds, virtual truths

A day in early November, 2016 (or maybe 2020, the crystal ball is a bit fuzzy), was a sensational day. The past few months were a frenzy of hyperlocal campaigns. Individuals created their own customized debates, became hyperconnected to every candidate through persistent and pervasive devices, participated through interactive virtual rallies, and made micro-contributions using embedded banking. This day was historic, for while hundreds of millions cast the most participatory vote in American

Wrapping it all up—but who does the wrapping?

More importantly, after everything is wrapped and nicely packaged, who does the billing?

Whenever we use our mobile phones, we marvel at the ubiquity and mobility it represents. The massive infrastructure and technology platform that makes our mobile communication happen remain on a level invisible to most of us. We marvel at how our devices are becoming more user-friendly seemingly by the minute, but we are largely oblivious to the increasing complexity of the computer codes underlying the

We the audience – creation, perception and action

We began by illustrating the power of sensational events in a highly connected environment—even if the ‘hyperconnected era’ has yet to come (Nortel, 2007, p. 1), unstoppable though it may be. As shown by the rapid rise in popularity of Ms. Boyle, in the real world as in the virtual, recognizing viral events early on allow us to piggyback

References (57)

  • Berger, Jonah, Katherine L., Milkman, 2009. Social Transmission, Emotion, and the Virality of Online Content. Social...
  • Boman, M., Johansson, S., 2007. Modeling epidemic spread in synthetic populations – virtual plagues in massively...
  • J.J. Brown et al.

    Social ties and word-of-mouth referral behavior

    J. Consum. Res.

    (1987)
  • Cashmore, Pete, 2009. YouTube: Why do we watch? CNNTech (Dec. 17, 2009),...
  • W. Cassel et al.

    Developmental patterns of eyewitness memory and suggestibility: an ecologically based short-term longitudinal study

    Law Hum. Behav.

    (1995)
  • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. 2010. Docket nos. 08–205 Citations 558 U.S. 310, 130 Supreme Court...
  • John Darley et al.

    Bystander intervention in emergencies: diffusion of responsibility

    J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.

    (1968)
  • Denton, Nick, 2007. Facebook ‘consistently the worst performing site’. Gawker (Mar. 7, 2007),...
  • Dobuzinskis, Alex, 2009. Susan Boyle breaks past 100 million online views. Reuters (April 20, 2009),...
  • William B. Dodds et al.

    Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ product evaluations

    J. Mark. Res.

    (1991)
  • P. Erdős et al.

    On random graphs, I

    Publicationes Mathematicae (Debrecen)

    (1959)
  • P. Erdős et al.

    On the evolution of random graphs

    Publ. Math. Inst. Hung. Acad. Sci.

    (1960)
  • Joshua Fairfield

    Virtual property

    Boston Univ. Law Rev.

    (2005)
  • Virginia Gewin

    Disease control: Virtual plagues get real

    Nature

    (2004)
  • Malcom Gladwell

    The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

    (2000)
  • Jacob Goldenberg et al.

    The role of hubs in the adoption process

    J. Mark.

    (2009)
  • C. Hackley et al.

    An ethical evaluation of product placement: a deceptive practice?

    Bus. Ethics A Eur. Rev.

    (2008)
  • M.W. Hahn et al.

    Drift as a mechanism for cultural change: an example from baby names

    Proc. R. Soc. B

    (2003)
  • Cited by (9)

    • Cultivation effects of mass and social media on perceptions and behavioural intentions in post-disaster recovery - The case of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

      2016, Telematics and Informatics
      Citation Excerpt :

      In terms of social media’s influence on the public’s perceptions of society, as opposed to traditional mass media, results are mixed. Vista (2015) finds that regardless of the medium, as long as the message itself is sensational enough, it will become viral. He shows that a viral message can rapidly spread across different media platforms and subsequently shape or even distort people’s perceptions of reality.

    • Social activity and structural centrality in online social networks

      2015, Telematics and Informatics
      Citation Excerpt :

      Finally, the study opens up avenues for further research in network member activities. Online social networks are essentially online social communities where people socialize or exchange information and opinions through pictures, postings, blogging, and other tools to communicate with one another (e.g., Vista, 2015). Social network sites enable individuals to build their public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and navigate their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd and Ellison, 2008).

    • Structural centrality in fuzzy social networks based on fuzzy hypergraph theory

      2020, Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text