As a media student, I have to learn about various media and mass communication theories and their effects. One theory that really caught my attention was called the Agenda Setting Theory. This theory states that though the media doesn’t turn people into mindless robots who can be brainwashed through media messages, it can set an agenda for what is talked about among the people. So, if the media covers a particular issue extensively, the people will automatically talk about. But if there is not enough media coverage on something, people will not talk about it as much.
Now, this theory talks about the media. But I wondered how much this theory held true even for education, since the first messages that we are made to think about and talk about are those of education; the medium being the teacher. This too was mass communication, albeit on a smaller scale. I wondered to what extend do people’s minds and voices get standardized due to education. To what extend to do we end up talking about the same things over and over, generation after generation; thus causing us to talk of nothing new? This could mean that archetypes would not just be of people. They would be with everything.
I decided to try something. I asked a few people to tell me the first thing that came to their heads when I said “A for?” Almost without exception, every single person said “apple” immediately. Can’t A also stand for “actor” or “animal” or “Australia”? But our minds have been so trained think immediately A stands for apple and B stands for ball.
This is of course not a bad thing. But how does this affect the inventiveness of our people? How many inventions have actually come from our country, since the zero? How many children today are taught to think outside and beyond the box? How many are told to forget the box completely? Sure, having a structure is good thing. I like structure too. But how restrictive should the structure be? Must it be solid walls through which nothing can penetrate? Can’t it be just a network of strong bamboo? Something that allows for free winds to blow, despite being so strong as to not get blown away in the wind?
This is just something to think about. I don’t have the answer myself, and am completely open to your ideas on the subject!Cheers!
hey T i have understood the agency setting theory
ReplyDeleteand also u hv explain it with proper points and very easy to understand
keep posting T keep it up
good work done by u
Thank you Harshu! :) as a media student who has studied this theory, what do you think about my application of the theory? Do you think it fits? or am i trying to co-relate two unrelated concepts?
ReplyDeleteWell Tulsi, it seems like, you are forcefully trying to apply the agenda setting theory to education. The basic problem with it is that education is not a mass medium. As per my knowledge, in any mass media, the creator does not know who his consumer is; as in he can't identify her individually. Also, the reasons for scientific thought not developing in India are many more than just lack of interest on teachers' part. We lack the kind of infrastructure needed for scientific research, social awareness, encouragement from parents as well as society, monetary resources, etc.
ReplyDeleteah.. see Tejas... that is where i would like to beg to differ slightly...
ReplyDeleteEducation is not a medium, but a message. The message of education is imparted through mass communication and while the agenda setting theory is said to apply to mass media, why can it not apply to mass communication and mass messages as well?
Also, i did not say that the lack of inventiveness or scientific thought was due to a lack of interest on the parts of the teachers. The idea i try to develop here is that such scientific thought takes birth from the initial curiosity that every child has innately. When this curiosity is not encouraged and the child is told to stick to what is taught in class, it gets crushed and out-of-the-box thinking is allowed to develop into scientific temper...
Thats one different perspective..!
ReplyDeleteNice blog.
Thank you so much Blue Periwinkle :D
ReplyDeletehope you keep reading.. :D
First of all i am sorry to comment after a long gap when u ask me a question at that time I was not much aware about agenda setting theory in deep but after studying this theory in deep now i can answer your question.
ReplyDeleteWell According to me education is information to mass but we Indian's try to give only few knowledge not the deep info like you can say a shortcut method
I am somewhat agree with you when the point comes to inventors and scientist our education never gave a chance to think beyond “A stands for apple .