Hypodermic Needle Theory (Audience Essay)

Hypodermic Needle Theory

The Hypodermic Needle Theory implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change.

Several factors contributed to this strong effects theory of communication, including the fast rise and popularisation  of radio and television and the emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising.

• The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people indirectly and uniformly by 'shooting' or 'injecting' them with appropriate messages designed to trigger and desired response. 
• This theory suggests a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver.
• The hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience which is immediately influenced by the message. 
• It expresses the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. 
• People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot of media material shot at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information.
• The theory assumes what we see or hear we believe and consume. The theory assumes we are brainwashed into believing the media messages. 

War of the Worlds

• In the 1930s, a radio broadcast of War of the Worlds was performed like a real news broadcast to heighten the effect of the story. Due to this people listening thought that the story was real and therefore assumed Mars had come to invade the world. 
• This demonstrates a passive audience and how an audience believes what they hear in the news, in particular how this can quickly lead to misinterpretation.
  

Cons of the theory:

• Very out of date and invalid
• Not everyone watches the news/consumes media in the same way
• Audiences are not simply passive - more up to date theories have proved this
• Technology has changed how we consume media and the sources where it originates from
• We are more aware of society and how institutions operate
• We are now so used to consuming media texts that we understand conventions and know when to reject messages if we deem them insignificant