The In's and Out's of the Cultivation Theory

The media has different effects on different people. Not only does it affect people differently, but there are many theories in discovering how exactly it does so. If it is direct, gradually over time, through subliminal interpretation, etc. One method that caught me off guard and required my direct attention was a theory known as the Cultivation Theory. What is the cultivation theory you ask? Well, it is a proposal that blindly states that people take in what the media euphemistically puts out and turns it into reality.
The cultivation theory, in my opinion, is said to have some of the most detrimental effects on society as opposed to any other. Long, permanent damage can be done due to an over intake of the medias dominant approach to violence, crime, sexual assault, and all things fearful. However, this doesn’t just happen overnight. Messages relayed over time and persistently reappearing on majority of media outlets make it difficult for you to escape and not become a victim.
For example, we all have heard of the, blown out of proportion, terrors of going into high school and being bombarded with embarrassment of the upper classmen. Many kids are highly affected by this idea that society through the media has cultivated to be a norm. Fear is instilled in the minds of the “fresh meat” on campus that they are going to get picked on, stuffed in lockers, dumped in the trash can, or perhaps be taunted by the hot shot quarterback saying, “hey, four eyes, where did you get those clothes? Wal-Mart!” as his friends stare and echo with laughter. This is a perfect example of the cultivation theory how terror is accumulated over time and turned into reality through the media, because we all know in high school those stereotypical hazing procedures didn’t make it into reality, no one cared enough.
The name says it all, cultivation. An idea cultivates in your mind over time and is reassured to make you more and more afraid of what is really out there in the world. Life is not as bad as it seems. The media are just evil villains who like to poke at the negative and frightening parts of society when really they are considered infinitismal to how they are portrayed.