Mean world syndrome

Ubbquittious

I have thought something like this existed for a long time but never knew there was an exact term for it. There does be plenty of it around on boards and also in real life


From Pikiwedia:

Mean world syndrome is a term coined by George Gerbner to describe a phenomenon whereby violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe that the world is more dangerous than it actually is. Mean world syndrome is one of the main conclusions of cultivation theory. Gerbner, a pioneer researcher on the effects of television on society, argued that people who watch television tended to think of the world as an intimidating and unforgiving place. A direct correlation between the amount of television one watches and the amount of fear one harbors about the world has been proven, although the direction of causality remains debatable in that persons fearful of the world may be more likely to retreat from it and in turn spend more time with indoor, solitary activities such as television watching.[1]


The number of opinions, images, and attitudes that viewers tend to form when watching television will have a direct influence on how the viewer perceives the real world. They will reflect and refer to the most common images or recurrent messages thought to affect their own real lives. Gerbner once said: "You know, who tells the stories of a culture really governs human behaviour. It used to be the parent, the school, the church, the community. Now it's a handful of global conglomerates that have nothing to tell, but a great deal to sell."[1][2]


Gerbner says that the spread of the syndrome has become more intense over time. He describes how newer technologies such as VCR, DVD, and cable television do not disturb the cultivation theory, but actually allow more complete access and spread of recurrent messages, although widening access to the Internet world of information can counteract that. The 1930s behaviorism models, the Payne Fund Studies, show that the effect that mass media has on our behavior is considerable. This is called the hypodermic needle model: people are injected with appropriate messages and ideas constructed by the mass media.[3]

NIMAN

Or the culture of fear.

A terrorists going to kill you.
There's paedophiles everywhere.
Etc
Etc

TheValeyard

NIMAN wrote: »

Or the culture of fear.

A terrorists going to kill you.
There's paedophiles everywhere.
Etc
Etc

Or terrorist paedophiles!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Nothing new in some people fearing the big bad wolf.

JupiterKid

The world can be a very cruel, nasty and unforgiving place but there is an awful lot of good in the world and good genuine people.

Cutting down on one's exposure to television and especially social media is a good way to develop a more balanced view of the world.

Larbre34

If VCR, DVD and cable television are the cited research, you'd want to find yourself some updated data.

I don't know if the world is more physically dangerous, in relative terms, than it was 50 or 500 years ago. Ireland is relatively benign by comparison despite all the media focus on certain incidents, but the crime rates in central America and sub-Saharan Africa are horrifying, the rest of the World are somewhere in between. All that being said, there is no question that the internet will only lead to greater fraud, exploitation and abuse as well as enabling organised crime and terrorism. Maybe that lack of remoteness adds to the unsafe feeling of any typical Joe Citizen.

Captain Red Beard

There has never been a better time to be alive. People are healthier, better educated, well travelled, more open to foreign cultures etc.
But headlines sell newspapers, clickbait headlines gain more traffic than a good news story, so people think the world is going to ****e when really its quiet the opposite.

Church on Tuesday

Murray TheDemonic TalkingSkull wrote: »

Or terrorist paedophiles!

Like ISIS.