Page 100 - Fear Unmasked Flipbook

FEAR UNMA S KED

platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which didn’t
exist or barely existed during past major outbreaks,
are facilitating important conversations about the
virus, while at the same time allowing sensationalism
and misinformation to spread.” Back in 2009, when
the H1N1 was running rampant, people were not
spending over eleven hours per day entrenched by
media. That, combined with the fact that pretty much

anyone that is alive can get a social media account and
therefore has some level of a platform to spout their
opinions, definitely has contributed to the perpetual
fear that Americans have of the coronavirus. The
intensely negative bend that the media has towards
this situation plus the constant exposure to these
negative perspectives is an unbeatable recipe for fear.

A big question to ask is why the media consistently
produces content that is bent towards the negative?
The reason is pretty simple and obvious if you think
about it. It’s all about those clicks baby! Sex sells,
fear sells; extreme statements get the attention of the
average consumer. In this media and information
saturated world, in order to increase engagement with
posts, videos, articles, etc., you have to do something
to grab people’s attention. Unfortunately, good news

doesn’t get nearly as many views as bad news. A
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BBC article about this talks about a “negativity bias,”
which is a psychologist term for our collective hunger

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