Consumption of Mass Communication

  During our Journalism classes, we encounter numerous topics of varying interests, ranging anywhere from stories of crazy car crashes to how video games could possibly be forms of mass communication. One particular topic I would like to cover today is exactly how we process mass communication. How do we observe this information, and what's the science behind the psychological categorization? 

  Mr. Miller had me absolutely captivated on the subject of filters. Filters refer to the upsets we face when decoding mass communication transmissions. It's never struck me before that some people may have these limitations when doing everyday things- such as how they interpret newspapers or television. The three types of filters include informational, psychological, and physical. Personally, the most intriquing one was psychological. When presented, the class conversed about why psychological filters are an issue when decoding presented media. For example, a conservative may turn their nose up at reading The New York Times, simply for the fact that they are a predominately liberal newspaper. Dealing with bias, or even bigotry is a shocking dilemma that causes ignorance in due part. When you impose the psychological filter on your daily life, you basically shun this whole part of the world. If it doesn't fit your views, you won't even acknowledge. 

  This is a rising problem in our modern day world, whether we admit it or not. The refusal to have exposure to opposing views creates ignorance within our reality. If you never venture outside your comfort zone, you don't truly live your life. You live in not just a bubble, but a lie. Not exposing yourself to different truths or oppositions means walking with blinders on a rocky path. Never truly growing, never having fulfillment. In this day and age everything is at a finger's touch away. Podcasts, radios, electronic newspapers and the web provide us with the comfort of exploring the world while never having to leave the safety of our home. We pick and choose the content consumed, and completely cut out anything we don't like. No outside force is imposing this filter on us, it's purely personal.  

  So we can observe that unlike the other two mass communication filters, psychological is the only one that's personal. It can be changed at simple will, and pushed curiosity of the mind. Informational is a skill you must aquire in order to process. Physical is the outside world (blindness, deafness) that you can't merely change. It's like the ultimate boss battle at the end of the game. If you want to overcome the psychological filter, you have to fight yourself. But in the end, it's the only one you're able to overcome.