This Magic Bullet may not be the one you’re thinking of…
The Magic Bullet Theory in communications is also known as the Hypodermic Needle Theory. This theory has an impact on most mass media users whether they use social media or get their information from regular media outlets like the local news. Are we as easily influenced like they say we are, or do we stick to your guns?
“The “Magic Bullet” theory graphically assumes that the media’s message is a bullet fired from the “media gun” into the viewer’s “head”.
-Berger, 1995
The title “magic bullet” explains how the media controls what the audience views and listens to and how it effects them. this Theory has been around since the World Wars and has only gotten stronger as time goes on and more information is put out on the internet.
Roughly a quarter of adult social media users said they have changed their views on social and political issues because of information and posts they read on social media. The public seems to be vulnerable to any type of media, especially if it is a topic that interests them. This theory is not solely based on information but opinions and what the audiences would rather believe.
When reading about the Magic Bullet Theory, I realized that I am just vulnerable as other adults using different media platforms, but it depends on the information at hand. Using social media for my news is beneficial because of how fast I can get it. It is also is molded to what I would want to see versus just putting it all out there for me to decipher through. I realized that convenience can aid in my vulnerability and help me believe one piece of information over to another. I found that when there is an article with a catchy title, I am willing to read it while it also makes me want to believe the information because of who and where it is coming from.
On the other hand, knowing how news outlets work, I know not to believe everything I hear and read. It has become known to most, to not believe everything you read on the internet or what you hear on the news. Everyone on the news and social media has their own opinion on what going on in the world.
In todays world, there are so many media outlets making it hard to know what the truth is and what is false. This shows how the hypodermic needle/magic bullet theory does not really relate to todays news. The fact that social media has grown exponentially in the past 10 years, a surplus of information is at hand making it hard to convince the readers that what you are writing is the truth and something they should continue to believe.
Don’t get me wrong, there are individuals out there who still believe everything they read and continue to show media outlets that what they are doing to convince the general public the information is true is working on a quarter of the population.
All in all, I would say that I consider myself more of an individual who is resistant to social media influence than an influential individual. The reasoning is because I am old enough and wise enough to realize that not everything on the internet is the truth and that the experience I have in the real world could potentially hold more truth than an article on the internet or the news anchor on the evening news.
Be careful where you get your news from and do your research before believing what you read. The Magic Bullet can have an effect on us, only if we allow it to.
