Blog 9: EOTO 2 — The Spiral of Silence

The Spiral of Silence

The Spiral of Silence Theory 

The Spiral of Silence Theory asserts that when people believe they are in the minority, they remain silent about their beliefs and opinions out of fear that they will be ostracized from society for voicing their views. This essentially means that there are viewpoints that are not expressed during contentious periods of time because people become fearful that their safety or their reputation will be damaged. Below is a graphic that depicts this theory.

History 

This theory was first introduced by Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974 when she presented her findings in a series of scientific articles. She was a German political scientist and she has published books pertaining to her theory that explain many instances of social silence. This theory explains why emotionally and morally tense arguments are often met with hesitation from one or more sides.

Implications 

The process of this theory goes as follows: people take note of what behavior is met with social support and what behavior is met with social rejection, from there, people who hold minority opinions retreat and quiet down and people with popular opinions shout their views from the rooftops. This puts the process into motion. As some people become louder other become quieter until they fall to silence. This is when people begin to withdraw their opinions from social and political debates either because they question the validity of their opinion or they are not willing to face the repercussions that will come from voicing it. This implies that in very contentious times oppressed people fall into a silence that is hard to break. This tends to effect those who are marginalized and those who are being targeted socially or even by their own government. 

Examples

In an extreme case, this explains why many Jewish people remained silent during the racial genocide that was targeted against them during World War II. They felt that their disdain for the situation was not supported, thus they felt safer remaining silent. Had they vocalized their contempt for their aggressors, they would faced damaged reputations and even harsher consequences, including death. On a smaller scale, this could even include the hierarchy found in many companies and institutions. If a higher-up decides to make changes or express certain sentiments to those below them and they are not met with backlash then any dissenters that exist within the institution will not vocalize their discontent. If a majority of inferiors do not object, then often no one will.

Modern Day

In our increasingly politicized world, this phenomena has reared its ugly head very often. People refuse to speak their mind in school settings, work settings, and on social media for fear of being 'cancelled.' However, we can see that many others break out of this cycle because it has become very common for people to share their opinions far and wide to anyone that will listen. There is an apparent push and pull between those who choose to stay silent and those who find it necessary to speak - and to do so loudly. 

Essentially, public opinion acts as a social control that can effect anyone and everyone. In modern day America, the mainstream media writes the script of public opinion and they have full power to take advantage of this to give some a voice while stealing other's voices at the same time. If they write the script, then they have the power to play puppet master over our whole society, and if someone doesn't like it, we theoretically may never even know. 

Breaking the Spiral

The key is to understand the cycle and to intentionally work against it. A voice, even just one, is a very powerful thing. In America, we have the privilege to use our voice however we see fit. Although the mainstream media and the propaganda that they spew is hard to combat, we have a unique opportunity to take advantage of our First Amendment rights to break the spiral. I truly believe the pen is mightier than the sword and we, as Americans, have almost unfettered access to the pen. This is a great blessing, and with this blessing comes the responsibility to use our access to the pen to speak freely. Of course, this may result in social consequences. This would be uncomfortable for some, but we are not made for to be comfortable, we are made to be great. Ideas are meant to be shared. I may not agree with all of them, but I respect people's right to express them. With the proper intentionality, this spiral can, and should, be combatted, and ideas can be spread freely.

Blog 8: Diffusion Theory

Diffusion of Innovations - Snapchat

Innovators

In September of 2011, Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown launched an app that has heavily impacted the very nature of communication. This app, called Snapchat, is widely recognized for its mascot, who has adopted the name "Ghostface Chillah." This app gained traction pretty quickly due to the fact that you can communicate by sending pictures and then the pictures delete subsequent to the recipient opening them. This heavily appealed to younger generations and the app has continued to grow in popularity. 

Early Adopters and Common Users

The earliest adopters were the younger generations at the time of the apps release. This primarily included middle-school and high-school students who had smart phones. As younger generations grew older, they became the primary audience. As it stands today, almost 50 percent of users are aged 15-25. With this being the primary demographic, snapchat has added new features to appeal to this audience, such as filters, a chat feature, and SnapMaps. I remember when I was 8 years old Snapchat was released, and I couldn't wait to get my own phone so that I could use it. When I turned 14, I was finally able to start using Snapchat and I was so excited to be able to use it to talk to my friends and send pictures and videos to them. 

Late Adopters, Laggards, and Long-tails

There is a large population of people that were skeptical of Snapchat and what it had to offer. This primarily includes older generations aged 40 years and older. This age group, which includes Gen. X and Baby Boomers, has begun to break into the world of Snapchat. For example, my grandmother has gotten a smartphone after moving to Florida because it helps her to keep in touch with the rest of our family even though we are further away. Since she has bought that phone, she has gotten Snapchat and she frequently uses it to update my siblings and I on her life. Now that Snapchat has become very mainstream the age demographic has become a bit younger and a bit older than it previously was.

Positives and Negatives

This technology has changed the nature of communication as it is now mainstream to share pictures and videos of your day to day life with anyone who you add on your platform. It has made communication very easy, especially among teens who often use it as a primary form of communication. I have kept in touch with friends that I have from all over the country by using Snapchat. However, there are a plethora of negative effects that have stemmed from allowing Snapchat to become so mainstream. These include, but are not limited to, predation, addiction to electronics, and bullying. In addition, one very rampant downside is that revenge porn and leaked nude photos have become very common. These consequences have done a lot to induce anxiety and depression in young adults and it has contributed to rampant self esteem issues across the broad spectrum of users. I do not believe these consequences outweigh the benefits that the app offers.

Blog 7: What I Learned in EOTO

The History of the Postal Service

During our Each One Teach One presentations, I found the topic of the Postal Service very interesting. I was shocked to learn that the first traces of mail can be dated back to 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt. This is very interesting because I tend to think of this as a modern day innovation, but it is, in fact, ancient technology. From there, mail has been in use but it was not until later that a postal service was officially established. 

The first comprehensive postal system was established in France in 1477. From there, postal services expanded to Britain. In America, Ben Franklin helped to develop the United States Postal Service deriving inspiration from the French and British systems. The United States Postal System was officially established on July 26, 1775 during the Second Continental Congress. 

Establishing a comprehensive postal service has been overwhelmingly beneficial for communication in the world. Through the Civil War, the use of our postal system was extremely important in aiding war efforts. The use of a trans-continental postal service was even more beneficial in American efforts during World War I and World War II. Having this private method of communication is so advantageous for an army, however, it is possible for mail to be intercepted. This has led to even more advancements in the field of the postal service to accommodate for these detriments. 

Unfortunately, just like any form of technology, the Postal System can be abused. People have used the Postal System to mail weapons, traffic drugs, and even plant bombs. These added dangers have led to advancements in mail screening and other precautions to avoid having this system be abused. 

As technology has advanced so greatly, we are seeing a decline in the usage of the postal service, however, considering its history and its current advantages, I do not believe we will find ourselves living in a world where the postal service is completely obsolete. 

Blog 6: The Censorship of Anti-War Voices

The Censorship of Anti-War Voices

After exploring both ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative, it is evident that these opinions of anti-war sentiment are not shared among the common public and the main stream media. I believe this is because it is far more profitable to encourage war in our society. It is a commonly held opinion that America, as a world superpower, feels the need to act as a police force against evils in the world. I do not necessarily disagree with this, however, there is often a push to engage in conflicts that America has no business engaging in. For example, the mainstream media heavily pushed for American involvement in Ukraine. I believe this is because America stands to gain something, and as a result there is a push in the media to stimulate pro-war sentiments in the American public.

In an article titled "Is Anybody Telling The American People About The War?" Rod Dreher comments that  "It is my strong impression that the American people are largely clueless about the maelstrom into which their leaders are taking them. They are clueless because our media have decided that there is one correct position on the war." Simply put, the American government thrives on involving itself in unnecessary conflict, and as a result, there is no space for anti-war voices in our media. By omitting these voices from popular broadcasting networks and print media, it keeps the American people ignorant, allowing the American Government to continue to wage unnecessary wars, raising death tolls and promoting violent pro-war attitudes nationwide. 

As citizens who are subjected to censored media, it is our job to seek out differing opinions and to collect all of the facts about what our country is involving itself in. It is a travesty that innocent lives are being lost in order for governments to profit, and the American people have not objected, because we are relatively ignorant about this topic. The bottom line is that just because war is profitable it is not necessarily just. It is becoming increasingly necessary for dissenting voices to gain a platform to make anti-war opinions more mainstream, or we face the risk of never breaking our current cycle.  

Blog 5: EOTO: The Invention of the Record Player

 EOTO: The Invention of the Record Player

As a person that integrates music into every facet of my routine, I highly value the ability to enjoy music portably. Having the ability to listen to music at my fingertips is such a meaningful thing for many reasons. The most important for the purposes of this class is that it has truly revolutionized communication. Music is inherently communicative and having the ability to mass produce and wide spread it has helped to spread messages further and wider than ever before. This is because music is often laced with political or cultural messaging, and by having a tangible way to distribute music has given artists the ability to integrate their messages into the pop-culture scene. This includes a large amount of music released during the Vietnam War era. Musicians and bands like CCR, The Rolling Stones, and Buffalo Springfield (just to name a few) were able spread their anti-war sentiments through their ability to release music that became wide spread. Their status as household names helped them to spread their message.

History of the Record Player

According to Top Record Players, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, pictured to the left, in 1877. This is considered the first record player. From this invention, Alexander Graham Bell added wax to Edison's design to record sound waves, making the graphophone. From there, Emile Berliner made and patented the gramophone in 1877 by making a disc out of shellac and rubber. Berliner's gramophone is similar to the modern day turntables that we have today. Later, vinyl became mainstream to use, making the records we know and love today.

These discs work because they have grooves in them and when they spin on a belt a needle reads these grooves and creates vibrations. From there, a coil turns these vibrations into an electric signal and carries this signal from wires to an amp. The speakers release these signals as sound, and if the grooves in the disc are made correctly, it can create music. 

This invention has gone through phases of popularity. In 1895, records were then mass produced and remained popular until the rise of radio. They then had resurgences in the 60s and 70s, helped to create the hip-hop era of the 80s and 90s, and one could even argue that they are making a come back today.

Impact of the Record Player 

The invention of the record player eventually led to the invention of the radio, cassette tapes, CD's, mp3 players, and even contributed to the invention of our modern day ability to stream music directly from our phones. The record player was integral in the invention of tangible music. It gave us the ability to listen to music at home and on the go, meaning that we could tangibly own music, as opposed to having to create our own or seek out live music to listen to. It quickly developed into a very profitable industry. In this day and age, music is consumed on a massive scale. It is very common to listen to music on a daily basis. People do this through a slew of different mediums, including a modernized version of the record player.