The Hypodermic Needle Theory
What role does media play in your life? Do you believe you are easily influenced by media trends? The truth is we are all affected, whether we like it or not. Media shapes our societal standards and values, teaching us what’s socially acceptable and what isn’t. The Hypodermic Needle, or Magic Bullet, theory explains how media affects audiences, including you and me.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a magic bullet that enters the minds of audiences and injects a particular message. Thus, messaging is released through the media and has a direct and universal effect on its audience. In the following examples, we’ll see this theory at work.
The Tide Pod Challenge
In 2018, many young people on the internet participated in the Tide Pod challenge. This challenge consisted of eating a laundry tide pod because of its vibrant colors, similar to fruit. The purpose of this challenge is to taste the contents of a Tide Pod. However, many of those cases ended in thousands of Poison Control reports from ingesting the dangerous chemicals. In some cases, consequences were as severe as death. However, popularity grew as more and more people shared their experiences on social media and encouraged others to do the same.
The Milk Crate Challenge
Similar to the Tide Pod Challenge, many teens and adults followed another social media trend. The Milk Crate Challenge follows individual stories of people competing to see who can climb and descend a staircase of milk crates without falling. Given the proper support, such as people on each side of the crates ready to catch the participant, it can be lighthearted fun to bring communities together. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for many. Several people have fallen onto concrete or other hard surfaces, resulting in large bruises, broken bones, and death. Social media, specifically TikTok, is largely to blame for the widespread of this challenge.
Gas Shortage From Panic Buying
In May 2021, a ransomware attack affected Colonial Pipelines, which shut down a few major gasoline pipelines. As a result, gas prices rose, and people across the country rushed to fill their car tanks. This response led to a large panic buy. Many Americans filled bags, tubs, and industrial tanks with gasoline to avoid being affected by the shutdown. In turn, this created a gas shortage that lasted for weeks before stabilizing again. So the question remains: what did the panic buyers do with the gallons of gasoline they stored away?
In a world where information sits at our fingertips all the time, the media’s influence is heavy. Media has always affected the masses, but its influence has grown with access to social media. I can say that I did not participate in any of the examples I listed, but that does not mean I am not influenced by the media in other ways, such as fashion trends and technological needs—who doesn’t want the newest iPhone? Though the Hypodermic Needle cannot apply to everyone because media affects everyone differently, I believe many audiences are directly and universally influenced by the media.
