Undoubtedly, the media is quite powerful in shaping people’s minds, and there is a view that individuals who hold the reins of media platforms can influence the way the populace sees the world and makes decisions. Although this process is quite irreversible, I partly agree with this viewpoint since social media offers freedom of speech, which is not subject to any supervision.
To begin with, all media forms play a pivotal role in our lives. As we follow TV coverage, the printing press, and radio broadcasting in a bid to keep ourselves up-to-date and entertained, we welcome these outlets as an inseparable part of our daily routine. As a result, the contents of these forms of media affect our sentiments. Alas, more often than not, governments interfere with the news and provide biased information, indirectly impacting the thoughts of older generations, for the aforementioned platforms are mostly impactful to them.
Conversely, there are more modern means of getting information and entertainment, which are, more or less, free from propaganda and censorship. The advent of the Internet has enabled users to openly express their ideas and obtain data that are impartial or uncensored by any entity. In other words, it has become challenging for people who wish to manipulate others by simply changing facts or inserting their mindset on media. Moreover, this trend is expected to grow, rendering control over the population via media ineffective. Hence, I am of the opinion that owners of media do not possess full oversight over individuals.
In conclusion, while some media platforms, including TV, radio, and the printing press, can be leveraged to gain control over the common public, more contemporary types of media, namely Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram, deliver more objective data, making any sort of control rather impossible.