5 ms·

A number of studies have consistently shown that TV news makes people dumber: more misinformed, more irrational, more confused, and less able to draw reasonable

A number of studies have consistently shown that TV news makes people dumber: more misinformed, more irrational, more confused, and less able to draw reasonable conclusions or make good decisions.

TeMPOraL 15y ago
> A number of studies have consistently shown that TV news makes people dumber While I believe that and I like the conclusion, my inner rationalist screams: [citation needed] :).
- wolf550e 15y ago
  http://www.alternet.org/media/149193/study_confirms_that_fox_news_makes_you_stupid/ http://www.alternet.org/media/149193/study_confirms_that_fox...
  - dagw 15y ago
    Fox News != all tv news. Reproduce that study using, say, BBC News or Al Jazeera English (or even better BBC news and Al Jazeera English) and we'll talk. Not saying those channels are perfect, but not all TV is created equal.
    - jonah 15y ago
      It's true that there is quite a variety but I'd venture to guess that most US TV news clusters closer to Fox than it would to BBC/AJE. I think only part of the problem with mainstream TV news is inherent in the medium. There's a lot of effort put into making it infotainment.
AndyNemmity 15y ago
That particular type of TV news. Not all TV news. The medium is not the same thing as the type of content.
- TeMPOraL 15y ago
  > The medium is not the same thing as the type of content. True, it's a generalization, but it's a useful generalization if majority of content specific to a given medium seems to have the same properties.
- sharmajai 15y ago
  Agreed. Take http://www.democracynow.org/about http://www.democracynow.org/about for an example.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
josefresco 15y ago
Please post a URL to any of these studies so I can send it to my Mom. I'm not joking.
- jonah 15y ago
  http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/ http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/ Pt. 1 http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/outfox/ http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/outfox/ Pt. 2 http://digitaljournal.com/article/314919 http://digitaljournal.com/article/314919 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-less-informed-people-fairleigh-dickinson_n_1106305.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-le... etc.
olihb 15y ago
It seems I cannot reply to TeMPOraL, but here are some citations: Iyengar, S. 1991. Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. Iyengar, S. et Kinder, D. R. 1987. News That Matters: Television and American Opinion. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. The New Videomalaise : Effects of Televised Incivility on Political Trust DC Mutz - American Political Science Review, 2005 - Cambridge Univ Press http://www.jstor.org/pss/30038915 http://www.jstor.org/pss/30038915 My M.Sc. in PolSci was useful after all... A third of my master thesis is on that very subject, but it's in french...
- abraham 15y ago
  For future reference if you want to reply to a comment with no reply option click the comment link and you can reply from there.
  - randallsquared 15y ago
    Please don't do this regularly, though. The reply option is missing on posts for a time to attempt to reduce bad behavior, and even though it's a bit leaky through the permalink page, using that a whole lot may prompt pg to close the leak. In general, I only use it when I will not be able to reply for hours if I wait 5-10 minutes (about to start a drive, or be in meetings, or whatever).
    - abraham 15y ago
      Define "bad behavior".
      - Natsu 15y ago
        People were arguing with each other and creating deeply nested comments, ignoring all other discussion. The delay exists to give them a chance to cool down and reconsider the wisdom of arguing. The site will permit one to reply after a bit of time. If it is delaying you, it's probably best to use that time to improve your comment by citing sources or editing it to be clearer and more concise, rather than using the cheat to post straightaway.
mushishi 15y ago
Citation(s) please, and does it apply to all countries' tv? I would like to believe that proper news don't yield more misinformed people. (How does this differ from reading a news article on internet?)

A number of studies have consistently shown that TV news makes people dumber: more misinformed, more irrational, more confused, and less able to draw reasonable conclusions or make good decisions.

TeMPOraL 15y ago

> A number of studies have consistently shown that TV news makes people dumber While I believe that and I like the conclusion, my inner rationalist screams: [citation needed] :).

wolf550e 15y ago
http://www.alternet.org/media/149193/study_confirms_that_fox_news_makes_you_stupid/ http://www.alternet.org/media/149193/study_confirms_that_fox...
- dagw 15y ago
  Fox News != all tv news. Reproduce that study using, say, BBC News or Al Jazeera English (or even better BBC news and Al Jazeera English) and we'll talk. Not saying those channels are perfect, but not all TV is created equal.
  - jonah 15y ago
    It's true that there is quite a variety but I'd venture to guess that most US TV news clusters closer to Fox than it would to BBC/AJE. I think only part of the problem with mainstream TV news is inherent in the medium. There's a lot of effort put into making it infotainment.

AndyNemmity 15y ago

That particular type of TV news. Not all TV news. The medium is not the same thing as the type of content.

TeMPOraL 15y ago
> The medium is not the same thing as the type of content. True, it's a generalization, but it's a useful generalization if majority of content specific to a given medium seems to have the same properties.
sharmajai 15y ago
Agreed. Take http://www.democracynow.org/about http://www.democracynow.org/about for an example.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

josefresco 15y ago

Please post a URL to any of these studies so I can send it to my Mom. I'm not joking.

jonah 15y ago
http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/ http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/ Pt. 1 http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/outfox/ http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/outfox/ Pt. 2 http://digitaljournal.com/article/314919 http://digitaljournal.com/article/314919 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-less-informed-people-fairleigh-dickinson_n_1106305.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-le... etc.

olihb 15y ago

It seems I cannot reply to TeMPOraL, but here are some citations: Iyengar, S. 1991. Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. Iyengar, S. et Kinder, D. R. 1987. News That Matters: Television and American Opinion. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. The New Videomalaise : Effects of Televised Incivility on Political Trust DC Mutz - American Political Science Review, 2005 - Cambridge Univ Press http://www.jstor.org/pss/30038915 http://www.jstor.org/pss/30038915 My M.Sc. in PolSci was useful after all... A third of my master thesis is on that very subject, but it's in french...

abraham 15y ago
For future reference if you want to reply to a comment with no reply option click the comment link and you can reply from there.
- randallsquared 15y ago
  Please don't do this regularly, though. The reply option is missing on posts for a time to attempt to reduce bad behavior, and even though it's a bit leaky through the permalink page, using that a whole lot may prompt pg to close the leak. In general, I only use it when I will not be able to reply for hours if I wait 5-10 minutes (about to start a drive, or be in meetings, or whatever).
  - abraham 15y ago
    Define "bad behavior".
    - Natsu 15y ago
      People were arguing with each other and creating deeply nested comments, ignoring all other discussion. The delay exists to give them a chance to cool down and reconsider the wisdom of arguing. The site will permit one to reply after a bit of time. If it is delaying you, it's probably best to use that time to improve your comment by citing sources or editing it to be clearer and more concise, rather than using the cheat to post straightaway.

mushishi 15y ago

Citation(s) please, and does it apply to all countries' tv? I would like to believe that proper news don't yield more misinformed people. (How does this differ from reading a news article on internet?)