(Tutor’s Name)
Steven Pinker brings a new topic to his readers’ attention through his article ‘Mind Over Mass Media’. The topic is worth discussing in the context of growing concerns over the dramatic growth of technology-based knowledge sharing headed by new forms of media. Pinker says that the world has been affected by ‘moral panic’ at the advent of each form of media like “printing press, newspapers, paperbacks and television” for centuries (Pinker). All these developments were once considered as threats to people’s ‘brainpower and moral fiber’, and today internet is no exception. Pinker lists out some myths that caused moral panic about mass media. Many people believe that presentation tools like powerpoint reduce ‘discourses to bulletpoints’; and social media like Twitter is said to have shrank our attention span’ (Pinker). When it comes to search engines, they ‘lower our intelligence’ as we tend not to go deep into knowledge (Pinker). The author maintains that the world’s concerns over mass media in respect to people’s brain power, moral perception and other aspects are not a logical response; instead, sociologists and other proponents of this moral panic also rely heavily on the same innovations to research on the topic and to express their views.
Pinker’s argument seems reasonable to certain extent. For instance, general perception about video games and comics was that they would affect users’ brain and moral stature. However, video games/comics have been found reducing the crime rates. In the same way, since the use of other mass media devices like TV, radio, and rock videos have IQ scores have risen continually. These things point to the fact that mass media in several respects are beneficial to its consumers. Pinker also argues that a person who takes training in a specific area would excel only in that discipline. The reason is that the brain’s activity in some aspects does not have any impact on other areas of its function. He states that “experience does not revamp the basic information-processing capacities of the brain” (Pinker). If then, people’s concerns over ‘the effect of consuming electronic media’ seems irrelevant to the situations. It may be true that people lose their expertise in several areas because of their over dependence in new media. However, there are new areas where they score remarkable achievements with the help of the new forms of media. Hence, according to the author, these technologies will surely make us smart as they enable us to “manage, search and retrieve our collective intellectual output at different scales” (Pinker).
On the flip side, there are some points Pinker conveniently forgot to mention in his article. Firstly, over reliance on electronic media can lead to social isolation. There arises a question if social isolation is a matter of moral concern. Obviously, it does not have any connection with brain function or innate skills. The case is more of sociological concern. Another notable issue is cognitive impairment attributed to the over use of electronic forms of mass media. Since human life is much of social involvement rather than intellectual aspects, a comprehensive approach is essential when discussing the issue. If modern mass media causes cognitive impairment, one would say that its disadvantages outweigh its advantages. Yet another point is that over dependences on electronic media can weaken a person’s physical abilities. In that context, the negative impact of modern media cannot be ignored. Excessive computer use may interfere with one’s daily life. All these issues reveal that still there is room for moral panic with regard to the development and predominance of modern forms of mass media.
In total, Pinker’s view of the ‘moral panic’ associated with the impact of mass media seems justifiable to some extents. It is true that print media and other visual media have contributed much to the human development in terms of knowledge sharing. However, his arguments on the behavioral and intellectual aspects of the issue flaws at several instances. To be specific, in order for fostering one’s IQ or any specific function of the brain one cannot compromise one’s social values and moral perceptions. If over dependence of electronic media has any negative impact on its consumers, the issue has the potential to raise ‘moral panic’.
Works Cited
Pinker, Steven. “Mind Over Mass Media”. The New York Times. (June 10, 2010). Web. 22 Feb 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/opinion/11Pinker.html?_r=3&scp=1&sq=%22mind%20over%20mass%20media%22&st=cse
