Does the Media Make Us Desensitized?

On any given night, one could turn on the news and hear headlines describing grotesque crimes such as murders, shootings, burglaries… the list goes on. The American audience becomes so inundated with these stories we forget to stop and remember: these are real people. 

Anyone who has been somewhat paying attention to the news, television or otherwise, has seen the name Syria fly around in all directions. We hear there is a crisis, we hear about bombings, we hear about refugees, we hear U.S. politicians give their opinion on the matter, but for most Americans, the Syrian crisis did not become tangible until a photo of a drowned Syrian 3-year-old washed up on a Greek beach went viral.  

The reactions to the photo were generally of horror and sadness; the photo of the dead child did what almost non-stop media coverage of Syria didn’t: make it real. These Americans suddenly saw their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or siblings in this child. As the well-known saying goes “One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.” Americans were finally able to empathize with the issue, causing it to be more than just a faint understanding of some far-away land. 

The American media can be roughly described as two forms: television and online. Television has everything from news channels to reality shows, and online encompasses newspapers, online blogs, social media, etc. According to Statista, the average American spent 12 hours of the day either consuming or being around media. This includes television, laptop, mobile devices, etc. During these 12 hours, the audience is bombarded with all sorts of messages: everything from news to advertisements to pop culture is flashed in front of the face of the user, creating an environment where the user can pick and choose what messages to be displayed.  

This leads to an understanding of the world which is incomplete, and almost sheltered. Because the audience is constantly hearing about atrocities, they tend to shut it out or normalize it. It isn’t until somehow the audience is connected to the issue that the issue truly becomes real. 

This leads us back to the Syrian issue. Currently, there is a huge debate on whether or not to allow Syrian refugees to enter the United States. This issue has now become very real to Americans and both responses stem from that: fear and empathy.  

The first response is of fear; some Americans do not want Syrian refugees entering the country because they are afraid the refugees are terrorists in disguise.  

The second is of empathy; other Americans remember the dead 3-year-old, and seek to relieve some of the pain the refugees are in.  

In either case, there are extremes. Issues like this become extreme when the desensitized audience abruptly has its bubble popped. Suddenly, the world feels like a much scarier place because it is the first time these people are truly seeing reality for what it is.  

Is there necessarily a way to fix this? Not entirely. If people choose to stay sheltered, they will. The way Americans consume media, especially social media, lends to the audience creating tailored views so each individual only sees what he or she wants to see.  

Learn to see others’ viewpoints, think about what you see in the media critically, and investigate topics which you are concerned about. Then and only then, you will be able to see the reality of the world we live in.