My inquiry question is “how does the media affect the way we think?”
My second round of research will be on “how does mob mentality affect the way we think?”
Mob mentality is the influence of a group on an individual to change their behavior as they would not normally in other situations (4). It is rooted in the idea of conformity, a pressure to yield to deindividuation, the lack of individuality (2). An explanation for this is ‘normative conformity,’ choosing to submit yourself to deindividuation in hopes of validation (2).
Aristotle once said, “Man is by nature a social animal.” Being social creatures creates both an affinity towards being liked and a fear of being disliked (3). Social media is a center of information where we can formulate opinions on things, especially others. Being behind a screen can give a sense of deindividuation, a part of it is that there is a sense of anonymity, among others (1). The concept was put forward by Gustave Lebon stating that this occurs because it is less likely one will be held responsible for their behavior creating more space for them to let loose (1). The online disinhibition effect is what researchers refer to this state.
An example of the online disinhibition effect is someone leaving hurtful comments on someone’s post. The person leaving these comments would not see how the other person is affected by this, making their consequences not as visible if these things were said in person (5). The person who received these comments might later change something about themselves to conform to what others deem as normal. This is an example of normative conformity.
In conclusion, mob mentality is a factor of a lot of different things. It also takes different forms in different ways in our everyday lives if you take a closer look.
- https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-deindividuation-in-psychology-4797893
- https://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannecroteau/2019/02/01/our-society-is-broken-lets-fix-it/?sh=5ce7bb93704b
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-mob-mentality
- https://www.openweb.com/blog/how-the-online-disinhibition-effect-impacts-online-conversations
Hello Aleah,
I had never heard of mob mentality. I have heard of the idea but never the term. Your points make a lot of sense. People do seem to feel more comfortable when they follow what they have seen others do. Maybe because it feels more comfortable or its been proven to be the safe/ positive action. Therefore, because people are influenced by each other, the way we think must also be similar. This is if we consume the same media. To understand the jokes and references to media though this is crucial. What is your next round going to be focused on? I think you got good information to answer your question in this post but you could further explore why a mob mentality doesn’t always apply. Why would we choose to consume different media?
Here are some resources
https://www.richmedia.com/richideas/articles/how-we-consume-media-is-changing
https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2019/how-younger-generations-consume-news-differently/
https://www.curemedia.com/media-consumption-trends/
good luck!
Hey Aleah,
this is such an interesting topic. Your paragraph where very clear and so easy to follow! The research done for this post is insightful and organized.
The part I found most interesting was the very first paragraph where you talked about mob mentality. I have always sort of known what mob mentality means, but I learned what the actual definition was and where it comes from.
An easy example of mob mentality that I can think of is when people buy the same item to fit in or because it’s in style. For example, a couple of years ago when suddenly everyone was purchasing Air Force 1’s. Although they are good shoes, there’s nothing special about them, and the only reason people bought them was that they were a popular thing to buy that would make you fit in with everyone else.
I’m excited to see more from you and good luck!