Effects Discussion

This is a discussion post for my Communication Theory Class. We had to research and then apply a theory or concept studied or each module.

When the Idaho murders first occurred, I remember how fast the case was plastered across social media as well as on the nightly news. I remember being so overwhelmed by all the information on both Instagram and TikTok about the murders, I even had nightmares about the murder scene and suspect, Bryan Kohnerger. At the time, my feed was filled with content about the case. Each time I opened TikTok, I was bombarded with videos discussing updates or theories as well as details on the case. On Instagram, I saw graphics, reposted clips, and commentary accounts dedicated to sharing information on the murders. What stood out to me was how quickly the content was being posted all across the internet from the big news outlets to small niche podcasters, people continued to analyze the case and speculate about suspects. It felt like there was always something new to watch, even though most of the information was repetitive, recycled, or uncertain. Because of constantly seeing information about the case online, I began to think about it throughout the day and would constantly talk about it with my friends and family. Looking back, I now realize that my awareness and perception of the case itself was shaped less by news coming from traditional sources but rather from traditional news sources but rather from the content being shared across social media.

This experience can be seen through Agenda-Setting Theory, which argues that mass media itself acts as an influence to audiences by emphasizing certain current issues over others. In my particular case, social media platforms did indeed act as agenda-setters by continuously using the content provided about the Idaho murders to shape my perception of its significance. Even though there were many other serious events occurring at that time such as the Russia-Ukraine War. The constant repetition of this case made it feel like one of the most important news topics to discuss daily. “The traditional agenda-setting role of the mass media involves both the  surveillance and consensus functions of communication, calling attention to the new and major issues of the day and influencing agreement about what are the priorities of these issues.” (McCombs, 2005, pp. 555-556). This aids in explaining why the case stood out so strongly to me, since the repeated exposure across Instagram and TikTok made it seem more urgent and significant than other issues. This idea becomes even more complex when viewed through the lens of Neil Postman in the book Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman suggests that the media does not only report and tell of the news but it actually constructs what counts as news in the first place. Postman explains, “The news of the day is a figment of our technological imagination. It is, quite precisely, a media event. We attend to fragments of events from all over the world because we have multiple media whose forms are well suited to fragmented conversation. Cultures without speed-flight media—let us say, cultures in which smoke signals are the most efficient space-conquering tool available—do not have news of the day. Without a medium to create its form, the news of the day does not exist” (Postman, 1985, p. 8). This helps in explaining why the Idaho murder case felt so central to my life at the time. The murder case itself was not simply something I heard about, but instead it was something that was presented to me constantly through an ongoing stream of content via social media. Social media did not highlight the event, it continuously recreated it through each new post and video made about the murders. My overall understanding of this case came from fragmented and fast-paced content that was designed to capture the attention of the viewer rather than providing depth. This reflects Postman’s argument that modern media shapes not only what we focus on, but also how we experience information. 

References 

McCombs, M. (2005). A look at agenda-setting: Past, present and future. Journalism Studies, 6(4), 543–557. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500250438

Postman, N. (1985). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. Penguin Books.