Stop Bullying
I have never created any form of propaganda before, so this assignment was very enlightening. When thinking about what topic to choose, I considered persistent societal issues such as social media, violence, and climate change. However, I landed on cyber bullying because I wanted my propaganda to be something posted on Instagram Stories, and what a better issue to advocate for than cyber bullying, which takes place on Instagram itself (among other social media platforms).
When it came to creative decisions, I wanted to keep the design of my propaganda very simple and straightforward. In my opinion, if propaganda has too many photos or colors it can take away from the main message of the propaganda itself. I also used muted colors because I felt as though the blues and grays looked good but didn’t take away from the words. I used text bubbles to portray types of cyber bullying messages that people might experience receiving, I thought that incorporating the format of some cyber bullying messages would only contribute to the overall effectiveness of the propaganda as the viewer can picture the messages popping up on their own devices.
My target audience was really anyone, but mainly children and teens of school ages. Anyone can be a victim of cyberbullying, but it is definitely something that is seen heavily in school-aged children and teens. According to the Annapolis Police Department, 9 out of 10 middle school students have had their feelings hurt online. In my own experiences, I’ve seen younger generations be affected by cyberbullying more than older ones because they are at very vulnerable ages and haven’t yet learned how to handle it properly. Personally, as I’ve grown older, I see cyberbullying less in my age group but it persists in younger groups.
The main thing that I have learned about propaganda that I wanted to incorporate into my own propaganda was to Activate Strong Emotions. When someone views the first image, they (hopefully) have some kind of emotional response about the messages. Then, the same would happen when reading the statistics because they prove the possibility for the facts to happen to anyone. I also Simplified Information when providing the StopBullying.gov website and hotline by having it noticeable by anyone who would view the propaganda.
Overall, I liked the experience of creating propaganda because I felt like I was doing something good for an important cause. Propaganda is not always used in this kind of positive light, but I didn’t feel like I could make something negative. I was compelled to use strong words and statistics to prove my point, Activate Strong Emotions and Simplify Information, especially considering the prevalence and potential danger of the issue at hand. In my opinion, as long as propaganda is used for a positive message and helps more people than it hurts, it can definitely be used as an effective method to market/advertise something or just spread a message.
“Facts about Cyberbullying.” Facts About Cyberbullying | Annapolis, MD, www.annapolis.gov/908/Facts-About-Cyberbullying#:~:text=About%2058%25%20of%20kids%20admit,had%20been%20victims%20and%20perpetrators. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.
