What is Gatekeeping?
In my class, the first group to present informed the class about a collection of theories that affect the media. Among these theories was Illusory Truth Effect, Confirmation Bias, Agenda Setting, Overton Window, Spiral of Silence. However, the theory that most resonated with me was the theory of gatekeeping.
Gatekeeping is just like it sounds. Gatekeeping is the process of the media selecting specific information and presenting them to the public. I found gatekeeping to be so interesting because of the amount of control and power it has over the media. It controls exactly what information each individual person is seeing. I found it so scary that the internet is controlling the way we think and what we think about. In a way, the media can form our opinions for us.
The Effects of Gatekeeping
Gatekeeping is one of the main driving forces that is causing our society to have divisions. The concept is actually something that is continuing to divide our society further apart. Because of gatekeeping, we listen to sources that validate our views. Half the country thinks the other side is racist, and half thinks the other side are communists.
No one is unbiased when it comes to gatekeeping. Gatekeeping causes us to only look at information that agrees with the way we think. We need to look at BOTH sides of argument in order to ensure that we are aware of all facts and information.
Why is Gatekeeping Used?
Gatekeeping is used for a very simple reason. The media can't keep up with the millions of events that occur each day, causing journalists to have to pick and chose exactly what people are seeing in order to cater towards their viewpoints. In other words, if someone tends to view more articles that cater towards a republican viewpoint, the media will continue to present them with articles of that same viewpoint. The individual will have limited exposure to any articles that cater towards a democratic viewpoint.
Conclusion
In my opinion, I don't find the theory of gatekeeping to be completely evil. It allows for us to not be constantly bombarded by information that doesn't cater towards our interests. I personally enjoy having my news filtered so that I am not wasting time reading about a topic that doesn't interest me.
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