Is The Hypodermic Needle Theory Still Relevant?
Social media is a blessing and a curse. Ever since Tik Tok came out, I find myself spending countless hours scrolling through the app. Most of the videos on my FYP (For You Page) are Dollar Store DIY (Do It Yourself), new makeup products, and things I need off of Amazon. Little did I know I was feeding into it and constantly purchasing new products. Things I didn’t need all of a sudden became things I bought because of the influence of the media. This is known as the Hypodermic Needle Theory.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory explains how media controls what the audience views and listens to and the effects, which can be immediate or later in the future (Bajracharya, 2018). This theory is big on influencing people to believe what the media wants them to believe.
Many fall victim to believing what someone else puts out before fact-checking in today’s age. I definitely fall into this category, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world does. I do believe that this theory is still prevalent today.
One of the significant times this theory appeared was back in the 1930s. Orson Welles told a story on national radio called War Of The Worlds, it was about how the US was under attack by aliens. Americans were panicked, calling 911 and fleeing their homes to take shelter. A ton of people believed the fictional story was actually happening, and many people didn’t.
Another example of this theory happened in Nigeria. A rumor broke out that Nigerian soldiers were going to schools to inject children with the Monkey Pox disease. Several parents believed the rumor and rushed to their child’s school to withdraw them. Nobody fact-checked anything. They heard rumors and that kids were being killed because of the disease. It sent the parents into a frenzy to protect their children.
My last example is what happened back in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak. Several people were being hospitalized because someone posted on social media saying that drinking or bathing in hot water and salt could prevent Ebola. It got so bad that the government had to step in and advise people not to do so.
I firmly believe the Hypodermic Needle Theory is still relevant to this day. It just depends on how gullible the person is. What are your thoughts on this theory? Let me know in the comment section below.