Deep Dive: The Hypodermic Needle Theory
The hypodermic needle theory, or more commonly known as the magic bullet theory, suggests that the audience is left vulnerable to the influence of mass media. Media inserts messages into the mind of the audience to get a desired outcome. An outcome of this theory is that people think a similar way because of the media.
I believe I am vulnerable to the influences of mass media, and I do not think anyone is one-hundred percent resilient against the influence of media, unless they stay away from every form of media, which would be almost impossible in today’s modern digital age. I think people can avoid being victims and falling vulnerable to the hypodermic needle/magic bullet theory by not being passive when exposed to claims in media. Be proactive by considering all claims and critically thinking things through. It is always important to cross-check with additional resources.
With the COVID-19 pandemic starting mid-March 2020, the world saw a lot of panic buying and stockpiling because of media coverage. The BBC explained panic buying as people buy more than the necessary amount, because they become fearful that it won’t be accessible to them in the near future. News outlets, like the Today Show, and users of social media, would report and post about the lack of products, like toilet paper, in stores. As a result, people felt the need to buy in excess. A survey conducted by Frontiers Public Health identified Social Media as a contributing factor to panic buying during this time. “78.5% of survey respondents thought photos of empty shelves should be avoided”, because it leads to increased paranoia.
TikTok is a popular short-form video social media platform. The most alarming thing about TikTok is the age of its general audience. Most users (32.5%) are kids and young teenagers between 10 and 19 years of age. This audience is left vulnerable to the effects of media. They are not analyzing the content with a critical lense. An article in Forbes found TikTok to be a platform to push agendas and messages. The users rarely provide sources to back up their claims. The audience takes in this information in a face value. TikTok’s with outrageous click-bait topics could easily become viral and shared between thousands of people. “[S]haring fake news on social media is driven more by inattention and emotion than ideology” . The context of the content on social media distracts people from the truth. Users share things without thinking. The result is a mass of people who lack true understanding and think the same way.
TikTok is not the only social media network that pushes messages on vulnerable audiences. Social media networks have been idealized as an outlet to empower the voiceless since their inception. Olaniran and Williams, explore how fake news and propaganda on social media direct audiences towards a linear way of thinking. They believe social media intentions have shifted. Specific messages are putting pressure on ideas of democracy, and people's views are changing because of forced political agendas in media.
Until audiences can be more critical of information sources while passively absorbing media content, the hypodermic needle theory will remain at large.
