"Today, we live inside a streaming media blizzard. Streaming media today is a pervasive environment, not an optional activity. Think about the many protests, riots and other types of incidents that we have all seen on all types of screens. Streaming news feeds, algorithms, influencers, online groups and demonstrations are shaping how each of us understands such cultural phenomena as identity, belonging, social opportunities, threats, and the nature of relationships."
"Media psychology is a study that helps each of us grasp the reactions and reactivity of people to the ways media environments intensify or calm events. Emotions are contagious. Outrage can become viral. The reporting of an event can polarize situations. Information, and misinformation can create cognitive bias. In the absence of conscious awareness, many of us are unprepared to cope with the influence of gaslighting and calculated manipulation."
People live inside a streaming media blizzard that pervades daily life and shapes perceptions of identity, belonging, opportunities, threats, and relationships. Streaming news feeds, algorithms, influencers, online groups, and demonstrations expose individuals to emotionally charged reporting that often amplifies fear, anger, information, and misinformation. Media environments can intensify or calm events; emotions are contagious, outrage can go viral, and reporting can polarize situations and create cognitive bias. Media psychology studies how people react to these environments and how modern techniques—targeted messaging, AI-generated deepfakes, and attention-driven content—intentionally influence perception and behavior. Widespread unawareness leaves many unprepared to cope with gaslighting, manipulation, and mental-health effects, creating a pressing need for public understanding of media psychology.
Read at Psychology Today
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