WHY IS MASS MEDIA SO IMPORTANT?

Through mass media, news outlets have a major influence on the general public and a major impact on the public's opinion on certain topics. In many cases, the mass media is the only source that the general public relies on for news. For example, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, mass media made it possible for the public to witness this historical event.

They also have the capability to effect the stock by daily updates  about the conglomerate you’ve invested in which in return keeps the country’s economy stable. In recent years the use of mass media is being used extensively, for example: political campaigns, advertisement and stereotyping. 

Many countries were also able to impose effective lockdown during the pandemic by great innovation and effective approach to capture its audience through various mass media platforms.

THE PROBLEM

The mass media platforms that we have access to often has another face to it which is much darker than the colourful and the attractive front that lures you and captures you to keep you occupied for longer period of time than we usually intended to. The mass media is such a vast network that some tech giants that personalise our experiences on their platform, this usually gives them access to our preferences and lets them take control the information we have access to. Hence these techniques of capturing an audience has an underlying problem that is not often recognised and if recognised often forgotten.

The issue often introduced is: 

1. Massive and a large scale polarity in the community 
2. Delusion 
3. Lack of understanding on a subject 
4. Unable to accept new information

These problems can bring up much significant issues in a person as they become stubborn and one directional , they also tend to believe that whatever information they possess is strictly correct and nothing can change it.

The root of the problem originates due to the ‘competition’ in the world of mass media, the problem significantly arises due to the popularity of content put forth by an individual entity or an organisation, in simpler terms TRP.

A target rating point (TRP) is a metric used in marketing and advertising to indicate the percentage of the target audience reached by a campaign or advertisement through a communication medium. In the particular case of television, a device is attached to the TV set in a few viewer’s houses to measure impressions. These numbers are treated as a sample from the overall TV owners in different geographical and demographic sectors.The TRP introduces a sense of competition in the world of mass media, since everyone wants to be ranked high and to be noticed by every single person they need to get creative every time by being ethical and by not crossing the ethical guidelines. Sometimes it doesn't work out so they go out of their morale, by doing this they forego their ethics and it results in a content which is either fabricated, unreliable, misinformation, dishonesty, propaganda and not trustworthy there have been several instances where such mishaps have taken place for the sake of a better TRP.

THE EFFECT OF MASS MEDIA ON ITS CONSUMERS 

As we know TRP plays a major role in influencing the mass media to create and share  untruthful content / incomplete information, the effects of these have serious repercussions to its consumers without even being aware of it. For instance recently during the pandemic the President of United States claimed and informed his citizens that a miracle drug called hydroxychloroquine was a cure for coronavirus, this statement lacked evidence. Hydroxychloroquine is a drug used to prevent malaria and to cure lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. After the announcement was made by the President there was a huge spike in sales of hydroxychloroquine which became very hard to obtain for the patients who actually needed it. There have also been many unnecessary deaths due to the huge intake of hydroxychloroquine. One of the demerits of this falsely claimed statement was that the outcome was far worse than the statement itself. Refer Table-1 for the world’s usage of HQC as a prophylaxis.

There has also been a large uptick in misinformation during this period refer Table-2, this shows the rise in digital misinformation regarding nCovid-19 in India.

Another such instance was a rumour that said injecting/ingesting disinfectants would kill coronavirus, this theory was quickly debunked and brought to notice immediately not to do so.

The repercussions of the consumers are severe, particularly:

1. Mental health issues
2. Unnecessary panic
3. Misguided information
4. Suicide’s due to the fear of Coronavirus

These issues being unnoticed and unrecognised can lead to very serious damage to the nation. A well-informed nation is likely to improve and make the role of mast media more vital and regulate it. If effective measures are not taken to deal these repercussions immediately the whole nation is likely to be polarised more than ever and can lead to higher number of coronavirus cases and eventually more death.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION?

This pandemic has brought a lot of grievances and panic. As the only source of reliable information during this time is mainstream media like news it is a moral duty and a social obligation of the news and the mainstream media to put forth verified and reliable sources of information.

The huge tech giants like whatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter need to take up an initiative to fact check the information that is being put on their platform. One could argue that their freedom of speech is being violated  but during the time of crisis their freedom of speech might cost another person's life. Data suggests that there is a huge amount of information constantly being uploaded and downloaded every day during this time of pandemic, the data must monitored carefully and then shared with the people.

The role of mainstream media is not to build propaganda nor to create panic. The first and the only social obligation that they need to oblige, is that what they present must be verifiable , reliable information and in a language that can be understood by all. A media must not subject to gossip, opinions, controversy and sensationalism as the rating suggests otherwise, and it is not compelled to submit. It does not mean that they only need to dispense the facts like a computer nor do they have to hand you the news just like the way you like it on a silver platter as a waiter in a restaurant. All this suggests is that the mainstream media needs to be impartial , the champion of facts and a mortal enemy of innuendo, speculation and hyperbole, because news is only useful in the context of humanity. Now more than ever is the time for the mainstream media to introduce elite journalism. 

When  mainstream media puts advertisements during its programmes they should also take up an initiative that for 23 hours a day they can present advertisements as much as they can but for one continuous hour of a day the media may present its news during a prime time without any advertisements for just one hour a day and make it a  non-profit media presentation to keep the democracy of a country well-informed on its electorate and to influence the decisions we make for the better. With all the citizens of the country armed with the right information it can be a blessing to the nation in many sorts of ways.

As a consumer doesn't always rely on mainstream media they also out for various platforms on the mass media like WhatsApp, internet, Twitter as their main source of information but as a consumer of the mass media one must be aware of the speculation, controversy and opinions we notice and not let them drive our decisions, whereas facts and only facts can truly help to make a right decision. We see a lot of amount of information on the mass media, how can we differentiate from what is right and what is false? It is simple, we need to trust reliable sources and develop to have a free and an open mind. As much as the mass media there is a huge platform for information sometimes we ourselves become the platform meaning your opinion and your thoughts that you share on the media can sometimes become the very thing you swore to condemn at that time we need to self aware of what needs to be apart of the conversation an also think of the ways your opinion can affect others. The thought process of a consumer must always have an open mind and should always think of the other perspectives before narrating something.

Another huge source of information is the internet, This platform of mass media has revolutionised and evolved since the late 1980s in this age of digital information we need to be sure of what to trust and what not to. As the situation of pandemic still exists the whole world runs solely on the digital connections we have created through these virtual platforms, the best way to identify if your source of information is correct is to connect to people and ask them your opinions and your concerns this is might bring some insight. As for the role of the government we need to vote people who will bring in regulation of the internet and mass media as many countries have done so already. Key roles that the government should regulate in a mass media is to keep the freedom of speech intact, regulate and minimise the spread of misinformation, not to control the narrative but let the narrative evolve. Some countries have complete regulation and authority over than mass media like China, who have forgotten the freedom of speech and control the media as it favours them, this is not what a media should come down to nor should it become a platform to impose dictatorial laws and to spread propaganda. Now that we know what not to do we are aware of the things that must be done like, let the mass media evolve its self into a better version of platform it should also strive to become a platform where all voices are heard and matters most.

CHANGES THAT MUST BE IMPLEMENTED 

Effective measures to implement changes in the mass media are:

• Bring in regulation of the mass media and minimise the spread of misinformation
• Elect politicians willing to bring in this kind of regulation for the benefit of all
• Keep the freedom of speech intact
• Reduced personalised advertisements
• Reduce or merge the various platforms for a better experience of the mass media
• Avoid stereotyping and setting trends virtually.
• Bring back and promote print media.

The most effective method to regulate mass media is to bring back print media and give it a larger platform like the internet. In today’s world the information is already brought to life by animation or video graphed in some sort of a way. What print media accomplished was that it gave a consumer their own thought process and the need to understand and . Today's media is completely spoon fed and is already been visualised, this creates a lack of imagination and lack of brain processing .