The Power of Storytelling and the Need for Critical Thinking in Today's Media
Question What You Consume
What do you envision when you hear the word brain? Maybe you think of the word psychology, or intelligence. Maybe you think of words like thinking or logic. I think of words like sponge and machine. This is due to me being aware of the fact that the human brain absorbs every detail. Babies and children are considered innocent because every action around them is absorbed quickly and stays in their subconscious. Everything they say or hear, they consider normal because they don’t know any better. The younger you are, the more new you are to everything. That is why middle schoolers and high schoolers try to be “cool.” They are naïve, but of course they do not view themselves that way. They think of themselves as brave or hilarious, when in reality they are neither of those things. In fact, most of them are avoiding thinking about the consequences or they choose to ignore them. Or better yet, they do not even consider the word consequence. They have an intuition but no one taught them how to use it or how to listen to it. They're experiencing new feelings, their hormones are all over the place, and parents do not know how to guide them down the right path. A lot of parents do not realize that their child is also stressed by every new thing that comes their way, because it is a growth spurt. Entering adulthood is also a struggle, because a lot of college students fool around because of what is around them. What are they experiencing for the first time? This “newfound freedom.” It is a rush to their nervous system. The best way to possibly guide the youth down the right path is by telling them the truth rather than hiding things from them or trying to get rid of them once they turn eighteen.
We should try to inform them from a very young age that the human brain is a machine. Whatever someone says to you is being recorded….by your brain. Every conversation you have with someone you like or dislike. Every book we read matters because reading is impacting our psyche. Every magazine you flip through is impacting your consciousness. Every blog that you read - no matter the niche. Your entire internet experience—from every article that you come across, every song that you listen to, every podcast that you listen to, to every post on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, TikTok, etc. Social media and streaming services are such a massive influence. Every image, every caption, every television show, the news, and the way things are marketed all shape our perceptions. What narrative is someone trying to sell to you? Because today, that's what the media is—selling a narrative.
I want to talk about incorporating media literacy in the education system. It should be taught from a very young age, and it should be a prerequisite in college. Media literacy teaches us critical thinking, it expands our minds as individuals—constantly asking ourselves why? Does this narrative make sense to me? It urges us to dig deeper, to investigate, to become who we were meant to be—which is to search for logic. We were meant to search for the truth, not versions of it, and the only way to do that is by practicing media literacy.
Selling a narrative refers to storytelling. Every truth or lie that is being sold to us by the media is being told in the format of a story. Everything is carefully curated to capture our attention. When it comes to video content, it doesn't matter whether the creator has uploaded long-form or short-form content, because at the end of the day, they've figured out the key to telling a story—which is description. Country singers are successful because of how descriptive they are. Taylor Swift is the queen of break up songs, because she knows how to paint a picture of the relationship. The audience always tends to be on her side rather than her “heartless ex boyfriends” because this is how she viewed the relationship. It is told from her perspective. She focuses on the details. Therefore, the stories we tell ourselves and each other impact our lives because while we were meant to search for logic, we were also meant to feel emotions. And the only way to feel for others is through knowing their experiences. The way to motivate ourselves is through strong desires. Our feelings determine our behaviors. Our feelings blur right from wrong because of how overpowering they can be. For instance, our family members know how to crawl under our skin better than anyone else in the world.
To me the most interesting elements of storytelling are history and truth. We connect our loved ones and strangers by recalling our past. We tell them about our day; what made us upset or what could have been better. If something out of the ordinary happens we like to share it with our partner or our sibling. Parents love the idea of everyone being on the dinner table because they think of it as family bonding. And as human beings we like to share the good memories in the most intimate settings. If we could not tell each other stories about our past or how our day went, then life would be incredibly dull. We would not have the ability to feel anything. We would not be as empathetic or sympathetic. We would not even know what true pity feels like. It should be mentioned, if my sister and I spent the day together and we were to talk about our days individually with different people, chances are we are not telling the same story. That is due to us having different perceptions and the listener is probably not even registering either story in the way that we wanted them to. So who’s giving an accurate portrayal. We are discussing the same events but different emotions are being presented.
We speak to psychiatrists or therapists about our anxieties and severe depression. Those professionals are exposed to so many different traumatic stories. In Couples counseling, the husband has his own reality and the wife her own. The counselor tries to unveil the truth so the couple can learn how to move forward.
We are obsessed with taking photos and school picture day because we cannot relive those moments. When we look back at those moments we feel nostalgic. Nostalgia is interesting because with this type of historic moments we like to romanticize it a lot.
Why is all this essential information? Because earlier it was mentioned that our emotions dictate our behaviors. And people who lack media literacy are easily being triggered, and reacting in irrational ways. This is due to them ignoring the facts and only focusing on how they feel. The internet has made us forget about our intellectual skills.
Let’s speak about a major issue in the space of media: sensationalism. Sensationalism is the practice of presenting information or stories in a way that emphasizes dramatic, shocking, or emotional elements to captivate attention, often sacrificing accuracy, context, or depth for the sake of entertainment or engagement. There are several key factors to this major issue, one of them being exaggerated content. An example of this would be exaggerated headlines. For instance in the year 2022, actor Cole Sprouse did an interview with GQ and one of the headlines that was uploaded on Twitter read: “Cole Sprouse says his relationship with Lili Reinhart was as real as it gets.” At the time people reacted in an irrational manner by attacking the actor. I clicked on the link to read the full article and realized he did not say an offensive thing at all. People just jumped to conclusions rather than thinking critically. They just assumed he must have said something mean or terrible about his relationship with Reinhart, but in reality he did no such thing. I would specify this headline as sensationalism because it was very misleading about what the article was actually about. He barely spoke about his ex, but whoever was in charge of uploading content on Twitter was aware that it would be emotionally appealing. Therefore, another key factor of sensationalism is emotional appeal. It focuses on fear, outrage, or curiosity to engage the audience. Neglecting facts is something that also happens, which essentially means omitting context, depth, or balanced perspectives. Attention grabbing language which has been going on for decades and of course lastly focusing on the drama. When all the media does is highlight conflict, controversy, or extreme situations.
Another example of sensationalism is the way a product is being marketed. Creating false promises such as Ads for weight-loss products claiming, "Lose 30 pounds in 10 days without exercise!" The impact of this advertisement would misleads consumers and promotes unhealthy expectations. With politics the media tends to utilize scare tactics. The impact of that would polarize voters and distract from substantive policy discussions. Or better yet, selective reporting: highlighting a candidate's minor misstep while ignoring their policy achievements. The impact of that would skew public perception and undermine informed decision-making.
In America no one really pays too much attention to CNN or ABC news anymore because they know that they are being lied to. That is why Candace Owens and conservative media (podcasts) are on top. These individuals seek the truth. You do not have to agree with their belief systems or everything they say, but most of what they say the citizens agree with because it sounds logical to them. (I believe most of America is moderate, the media has trained us to believe that you are most likely a conservative if you vote republican - we can do a deep dive into this next time).
Besides sensationalism, the internet is a scary place because there are so many biases. In school when we were writing research papers we were not trained to be careful of this mind trick. For instance, a person reads a product review on a website that focuses solely on a new smartphone. The headline reads: "The Best Smartphone Ever Made – Unbeatable Performance!" Why is it biased? Well, it only shows selective reviews: The review only highlights the phone's top features (e.g., speed, camera quality), but omits any drawbacks, such as issues with battery life or limited storage. It does not include a lack of alternatives: The review doesn't mention competing smartphones that may offer similar or even better features at a lower price. There is also no balanced view. The review focuses on glowing, over-the-top praise and fails to mention customer complaints or criticisms from other reviews. And the outcome goes a little something like this: The reader believes this smartphone is the best on the market without considering other options or potential flaws. They make their purchase decision based on biased information rather than a complete, well-rounded review. The impact of this whole scenario: believing biased product reviews can lead to uninformed purchasing decisions, where the consumer overlooks potential alternatives or makes a purchase based on incomplete or exaggerated claims.
Because these two things are not taught to students, plenty of people fail to identify propaganda. For instance, A fast-food company releases an ad showing happy, fit families enjoying their meals with the tagline: "Our Food Brings Families Together!". How is this propaganda? The ad connects the act of eating the food to family bonding and happiness, even though there’s no inherent link between their meals and stronger relationships. It doesn’t mention that the meals may be high in calories, sodium, or unhealthy ingredients, which could negatively affect health over time. The families in the ad are shown as healthy and thriving, which may mislead viewers about the nutritional value of the food.
And lastly, because of social media there is now a profession known as influencers. A fitness influencer posts a video saying: "This protein powder is the reason I got these abs! It’s the best on the market—just buy it, and you’ll see results like mine in no time!" This is a problematic statement because it is a misleading representation. The influencer’s physique is likely the result of rigorous training, a controlled diet, and genetics, not solely the protein powder. Additionally, most of the time these are undisclosed endorsements. The influencer may be paid by the company to promote the product but doesn’t reveal this to their audience. The audience now has unrealistic Expectations. The influencer implies that the product alone will yield visible results, which is not accurate for most people without significant lifestyle changes. Today young people specifically get influenced by whatever narrative is being sold to them. They do not question why, they just fall for the story and product all together.
In conclusion, while I could go on, I believe I’ve made my point: media literacy is a crucial skill that needs to be taught in schools because it encourages us to think critically. Our brains are wired for logic, and while emotions shouldn’t be ignored, they need to be questioned, especially when it comes to the narratives we consume. We must stop and think before sharing something on social media without verifying its accuracy. By doing our research, we can avoid spreading misinformation, which only fuels public confusion. Ultimately, the current trend relies too much on emotions, pushing us to react impulsively online instead of making sense of things. We need to ask ourselves, "Would I act this way with my neighbor if I heard a similar rumor?"
