The spiral of silence is a unique phenomenon that happens all the time in communication (whether it be interpersonal or group) and the media. The theory, first developed by Elisabeth Noell-Neumann, perfectly illustrates how the media works in conjunction with our own personal beliefs (and fears) to form a public opinion. What we read about on a news blog, or hear during a radio announcement is often not an accurate representation of all the views of Americans. It only represents the most popular opinion or the dominant viewpoint. People who fear that their opinion is unpopular or not backed by a large amount of people tend to silence their thoughts and never express them. Thus a portion of the whole story never gets told. People find solace when they know that their opinion is shared.
With the relatively recent legalization of the schedule one drug marijuana in now two states (Colorado and Washington) and the decriminalization of it in many more, the politics surrounding the availability of this drug can serve as a good example of the spiral of silence. It short people tend to express or not express their views about the subject based on a shared opinion. There are many times where even the people that smoke pot, tend not to disclose it to people or groups because of fear of discrimination or resentment. In some cases being vocal about your marijuana usage can cause friends to disappear and job prospects to diminish. However, I believe we are seeing a shift in perspective about this drug and it’s perceived harmfulness to the consumer. It’s directly correlated with the relationship between the media and public opinion.
By trying to avoid isolation and make sure that one is on the “winning side” of public opinion, there has been years of media induced fear about how harmful marijuana is. Since the first viewing of “Reefer Madness” in 1936 there have been many pro-pot people that have been too afraid to speak out about their views on the drug because the opinion wasn’t shared with the majority. Not only was their opinion not shared by majority of people, it also wasn’t shared with the views of the government which for sure increased their fear of isolation. On top of that the media perpetuates these misconceptions and irrational fears about marijuana by exclusively publishing misleading research and anti-pot figure heads. And why? Because the media exists to publicize public opinion. But what happens when public opinion is already influenced by the media i.e. through them reading the news? Well that’s why the spiral of silence theory falls right into cybernetics.
This theory illustrates cybernetics quite well. What your stance is about marijuana legalization is dependent on the complex interactions between your own individual beliefs, public opinion and media depictions. It’s a system. And often times which system you choose to subscribe to affects your own personal opinion. If the system is large enough then it begins to influence public opinion. In my example, the system I’m referring to is large news companies like CNN and FOX.
It would be a long time before big news companies would start publishing anything “pro-pot.” People and companies tend to not want to “make waves,” and stick to the topics and opinions that are shared by others. Furthermore big news companies tend not to publish unpopular opinions because it will tarnish the opinion of them to their dedicated viewers. For example if a journalist from FOX, a notoriously biased republican news source, starts speaking out on the medical benefits of marijuana, it would affect the viewership and ratings of the network. When Ann Coulter is presented with the facts and figures of people being helped by marijuana, she remains silent and oblivious because her giving in, and changing her opinion, would negatively affect opinion of her viewers. Viewers of FOX news expect a certain standard of beliefs, and characters that follow the core values of the right wing agenda. The cybernetics move forward and the spiral of silence continues to spin down, because FOX viewers feel a certain way about pot, and FOX caters to those opinions.
There’s an exception to every rule however. Although there is a tendency for people to remain silent about controversial issues, there are always speakers who do not fear isolation and express their views unafraid of the consequences. These sorts of people are interesting because if they are risk-takers they can start to make ripples in the media and furthermore to public opinion. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a medical correspondent from CNN, made waves in the past year by publicly announcing his support for the legalization of the substance. CNN wouldn’t dare to touch an issue like this before, and now there have been several segments and features that tell the stories of patients whose lives are made better by marijuana. Because CNN sort of took a leap of faith and went through publishing research and material like this, it’s starting to make an influence in public opinion. Just like being silent affects public opinion so does being vocal. CNN has a massive viewership, and once people started reading more about the actual benefits of the natural plant, a shift in perspective started happening, which we are still right in the middle of.
In a recent gallop poll, for the first time a majority of Americans were advocating for the legalization of marijuana as well as deeming it less harmful than alcohol. In the latest national poll, 58 percent of American showed support for marijuana. That number would of never been that high 30 years ago, when the so called “War on Drugs,” was in full swing. Not because people didn’t smoke pot, but because the media was making them too scared to admit that they did.
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