The Affect of Media on Our Perception of Places

The way in which we experience a place where we have never been is greatly affected by the various exposures that we have had to that place. In particular, the ways in which different forms of media create theses exposures can have a strong influence on one’s perception. In order to explore this concept, I will use the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In North America, through newspapers and television, the media has more often than not depicted the Middle East as a hostile environment that is dangerous for anyone to live in due to security and safety reasons. For someone who has had limited exposure to the region and that exposure has been mainly through the media, the perception which they have is greatly influenced. When there are increases in violence, these perceptions, which are the expected ways in which one would experience that space, become more influenced as there is generally greater coverage. As sources of media are generally biased, those who control them can have great power over how someone else perceives a space.

On the contrary, when you speak with people who have lived in the Middle East or have family who live in the Middle East, the way in which you perceive this same violent, hostile space is very different. This difference in perception is because you are experiencing the space through a different lens. Although there will be similarities between the two lenses, the end result is likely to be very different as the person you speak with recognizes the issues of safety and security but often it is not to the overwhelming extent of the media who solely focus on this.

After experiencing both of these situations and having visited the Middle East, I feel that the media can have a very large impact on ones perception of a space and this influence can have great strength as it not necessarily overcome easily. Although it is easier to overcome our perceptions of a place once we truly experience it, the perceptions which we have up until this time and the experience that we have at this time can be greatly influenced by the media which we are exposed to.

Joel Friedman