Bias, the media, and me

Everyone is plagued by his or her own bias.  Whether we are discussing politics, religion, sexuality, movies, or food we all perceive in a unique way and we all believe what we feel is true.  Our biases can help us as we ask questions, but if we are not careful they can also hinder our evolving thought process.  We must understand that bias is a constant in our lives and that we can never truly rid ourselves of this.  What we can do is gain an understanding of where our bias stems from and be cognitive of its existence. 

Our experiences will help us as media psychologists to be in control of our bias and constantly being aware of its existence will allow us to understand how the media we use affects us.   Taking an inventory at what media we consume in any given day will help us begin to break down our own bias.  For me, I found that most of my consumption comes from online, which needs an added sense of bias detection, because of the ease in which stories can be fabricated on the Internet.  

I try to gather material from various sources and varying viewpoints.  This will allow me to gather as much information as I can, and sift through the bias to get to the facts.  To understand how bias we works we also need to understand how we consume our media.  We need to ask questions of the sources and look inward to see how much of ourselves we are putting into our research and note any bias that might be shining through. 

While bias can never fully go away, we must learn to use it and control it as best we can.  Am I reporting only on what helps my argument? Am I pulling from sources that only side with me?  While this may be a constant in an every day setting, we must be cognitive of the types of bias we have when trying to pull information especially as media psychologists.  If we are to truly use our knowledge of media and technology to explain how they impact and affect society, we must put our own biases aside for the betterment of those we are helping.  

Image References

Ollman, G. (n.d.). I don’t need a signature to know it’s going to be bad… « The Day Before Zero. Damballa. Retrieved from https://blog.damballa.com/archives/1558

MCLAUGHLIN, T. (2010, January 7). Family Security Matters. Family Security Matters. Retrieved from http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.5197/pub_detail.asp

Smith, N. (n.d.). Reflective Practice in Higher Education Instruction - The EvoLLLution | The EvoLLLution. The EvoLLLution | Attracting Adult Students. Retrieved from http://www.evolllution.com/program_planning/reflective-practice-in-higher-education-instruction/