The ‘Consent’ Created By Social Media

With the development of communication technology, the Internet, the threshold of dissemination of information is gradually lowered, in the past, only engaged in the field of professional journalism personnel enjoy the right to speak on major social events, but now, people only need a networked device, can be on the Internet to express their opinions and comments on the pluralism of the main body of public opinion has resulted in an increase in the fragmentation of public opinion field information, making the public opinion environment more complex.

The new media thinking of some mainstream media is slow to change, still immersed in the slow pace of the traditional media era. Nowadays, some major events in society are often the first to be exposed by the public, and due to the rapidity and extensiveness of information dissemination in the new media, things will soon be fermented. If the mainstream media do not come forward in time to grasp the general direction and seize this steering wheel of public opinion at this time, then the rumours will soon erode on the network immediately. （Rosenberg,L.2022) Some so-called self-media bloggers, in order to attract eyeballs and gain traffic, make subjective views and comments on the causes of the matter as well as the parties involved based on their own subjective knowledge and understanding after the occurrence of a public event. However, in the highly virtual network society, opinion leaders with a huge fan base guiding public events will make the audience lack rational judgement in the transmission of opinions and thus become followers involuntarily. They display relatively free and diverse identities in the online world. It is also because of this virtual nature that they are more casual in controlling their roles and expressing their opinions, even ignoring the events themselves and directly venting their emotions.

The psychological explanation is that they can easily fall into the ‘halo effect’ and get lost in the mass of information, which affects our thinking. It was psychologist Edward Thorndike who first coined the term in 1920 in a paper entitled ‘Constant Error in Mental Ratings’. The ‘halo effect’ is a cognitive bias in which an overall impression of a person influences how others feel and think about particular characteristics of a person. For example, ‘He’s great!’ can affect perceptions of other specific characteristics (‘He’s smart too!’) . Perceptions of one trait can also affect perceptions of other traits. (Cherry,K.2022)

So with information overload, our brains are often in a state of overstimulation. The constant flow of information stimuli makes it impossible for us to concentrate, which leads to confusion and omission of information memory. This state of confusion can make us feel tired and irritable, which ultimately affects our decision-making ability and judgement In addition, the halo effect may also cause us to have a preference in information selection, preferring information that is simple and easy to understand. This is why some exaggerated and sensationalised headlines and content are more likely to go viral on social media, while deeper thinking and rational opinions may be ignored. Our brains tend to seek instant gratification and fragmented information rather than digging deeper into the essence of an issue.

The halo effect is a common problem when there is information overload. We can cope with it by sifting through information, thinking deeply, assisted by technology and paying attention to our mental health so that we can maintain clear thinking and make informed decisions. In this way, we can benefit from the information explosion and realise our potential!