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.