Manipulative Impact of Mass Media: Mechanism, Consequences and Recommendations for Counteracting

Abstract

The aim of the article is to study the manipulative impact of mass media, analyze the mechanism of their influence, as well as develop recommendations to counteract this influence. In the course of the study, a survey of 100 respondents on the manipulative impact of the media on public consciousness was conducted. Based on the results of the survey, it is concluded that there is a large number of methods and techniques to manipulate consciousness of population used by the modern media. This is done, as a rule, in order to suppress or distort reliable information. Thus, 76.1 % of respondents expressed their opinion that the listed methods of mind control have a negative impact on mental health. Therefore, almost 70 % of the respondents are trying to subject information provided by the media to rigorous filtering and only 2.1 % unconditionally believe it. The significance of influence of the media is evidenced by the fact that almost every person uses at least one mass medium. Manipulative effects of the media can be resisted with the help of analytical thinking.

Keywords

• manipulation
• mass media
• public consciousness