How screen time warps our view of politics

Numerous studies have pinpointed the dangers of kids’ screen time, but what about adults’ use of social media and TV? Ever wonder why some local pols seem to lose their cool so often? Entertainment researcher Dr. Cristel Russell explains that according to cultivation theory, consumers’ beliefs about the world are shaped by media, and the effect is more pronounced the more they watch/interact with media. On Fox & Hounds Daily, Russel posits that hateful, name-calling online discourse normalizes cruel communication in the realm of politics. To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

According to cultivation theory, one of the most influential theories of television influence, the more people watch TV, the more people believe that the real world is like the ‘TV world.’ In other words, TV and other media shape our viewpoints, affect what we believe, and in turn influence our own behaviors.   So, the more we watch the extreme world through our screens, the more we believe that this is in fact the real world. Well, it’s not!…

If the cultivation effect is true (and many studies have shown the effect), the more of this mean media world we see on the screen, the more we see the world as actually mean…. And the more being mean is normalized. My latest research has shown this “mean” trend or “adult bullying” has become more relevant and normal amongst Facebook groups. Many posts went from being informative and helpful to being judgmental, disrespectful, even callous. I have witnessed countless arguing, name calling, and behaviors that are often encouraged by reality shows or talk shows. And we must ask ourselves, as a society, is this the world we want to create?  

COVID-19 has brought about a lot of change, one being we are losing touch with the real world and losing our manners and civility in the process.  But there is good news. We determine what type of world we want to live in by limiting our screen time and getting back to the real world and real connections. Limiting screen time may not just be a good idea for kids: adults too might benefit from taking a break from media, taking a walk, and getting a whiff of the real world… through their masks that is.

This article originally appeared in Fox & Hounds Daily. Read the whole thing here.

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