Is the media influencing your vote?

Opinion | Sneha Narayan

21/03/2019

Media, politics and a common man share a relationship where each of them try their best to  influence the other. Now who wins the game of persuasion depends upon who leaves the other incompetent to think and analyze and act willfully. If we try to analyze this whole game, we are living in a time period where both the media and politics are running hand in hand and  the common man is left to spectate. It  becomes even more interesting when we acknowledge the fact that both of them survive  on the attention  and acknowledgment that they get from the laymen like you and me.

What do we expect when we flip through the pages of newspaper or switch through the news channel. If I were to answer I would say I simply expect to get true and unbiased raw facts and figures. We do not want perspectives to be served for it is our share of labor. It is up to us to decide if we are pro, anti or for that matter neutral on anything and everything that goes around.

But unfortunately this becomes nearly impossible for we are constantly bombarded with scripts that triggers the sentiments  and leave no space for us to think and form an opinion which is completely ours. The grilling discussions and debates during the prime time do not let us reach to a conclusion that is rational or reasonable rather leave us astray and incapable to focus on the loopholes that prevail and should be attended to.

So the whole struggle is reduced to sell a political figure and not an idea that actually matters for we have never been able to come up with something novel rather are battling with same old rotten ideologies. The authorities in figure present themselves the way they want and the media simply copy paste the whole and present us with something that is colored and polluted. They leave us with no option but simply force us to listen what they want us to listen, they force us to read what they want us to read and unfortunately force us to believe what they want us to believe.

We either become completely pro or completely anti while being neutral is not an available option.

One such example could be the trending hashtags that people go crazy about. People not knowing what is the actual idea they are supporting and simply become a part of it because it is trending. It is what they find is discussed about everywhere. So they are in a blind marathon where they do not know where is the end point or for that matter why are they there but simply that it is where the media want us to be. If the parties in power benefit from us feeling cheated the media make us feel it and we in turn believe we are not even thinking if we really are.

Similarly we feel benefited if it is what gives the other two a push that they want. If they jointly decide a person should be hated they successfully induce the hate in us and we in addition to it force the deviants around us to align with the mass making it difficult for them to cling to their own opinions. If a figure is to be revered we eventually end up doing it not questioning if the person is actually worthy of the reverence. Since the truth is usually not portrayed eventually what is portrayed becomes the truth. if someone dares to do so they are cornered. In this trap we common people remain either confused or completely polarized.

There is no denial of fact that nothing comes from nowhere but we should not be stupid enough to simply accept but put a bit of effort to understand if it actually came from nowhere or it has a lump of credibility to it.