The “Magic Bullet”
When we consume media, a lot of us don’t tend to think about any potential biases it may be creating, or any biases that the media itself may have, and the impacts that it can have on us and our opinions and beliefs. The hypodermic needle (or “magic bullet”) theory states that media will inject specific messages and propaganda into people’s minds, like a needle or a bullet (Bajracharya). This is an interesting theory to ponder, as it really does make me think about how susceptible we can be to biases from what we consume.
Personally, I like to believe that I am not particularly vulnerable to the hypodermic needle theory. I do have my own biases and beliefs, but I personally don’t like to view or read media that is heavily biased towards my own thoughts. This isn’t to say that I actively seek out opposing views, especially if it’s about a heated topic in particular, but I do like to find a non-biased source that just tells me the straight facts and what I need to know. But, I am definitely aware of the dangers that echo chambers can give rise to, and I like to protect myself from falling into those traps. Echo chambers can cause confirmation bias in spades, and is something that I see too much of on the internet. I truly believe that echo chambers have caused most of our current problems today, such as political extremism and insane amount of dangerous misinformation regarding vaccines and matters that affect public health.
Similar to some examples mentioned above, the hypodermic needle theory is visible in many aspects of our lives. Heavily biased news outlets, such as Fox News, have spread and pushed a specific agenda on its viewers, causing an aforementioned echo chamber. Heavily biased takes and headlines are broadcast and repeated with no counterpoints or opposing takes, leading to the biases being injected into viewers’ minds. Facebook is also a huge proponent of this theory in a way. Facebook uses its algorithm to determine everything about a user, such as their interests and political biases. It can then push specific pages and biases onto your page and no opposing ones, and can create an echo chamber in that way. Social media as a whole can act out this theory too, with many platforms also using an algorithm or only showing you one point of view and not the entire picture, injecting you with specific thought and opinions.
Overall, the hypodermic needle/“magic bullet” theory is one that is both very interesting and important to consider. The media that we choose to consume can oftentimes be pushing specific agendas or isolating us from other points of view, and both can potentially be very dangerous.
Source:
Bajracharya, S. (2018, February 15). Hypodermic needle theory of communication. Businesstopia. https://www.businesstopia.net/mass-communication/hypodermic-needle-theory-communication.
