If you live in the United States, your preferences and belief systems may not be original to you. You have likely been conditioned to appreciate some things and despise others. Your family of origin plays a role of course in influencing who you are and what you believe. And increasingly, popular culture, social media, traditional media, influencers and podcasters, also influence what and who you embrace and what and who you may consider rejecting.
When it comes to desires and preferences, keep in mind that Americans are heavily marketed. The average person in the United States is the target of between 4,000 and 10,000 ads per day. This doesn’t mean that the conscious mind is aware of and receiving all 4,000 to 10,000 ads. It does mean, however, that advertisers are intentionally trying to reach us, at almost all hours of the day.
More than Annoying
Excessive advertising and content creation is bigger than driving consumers to overspend or overconsume.
I fear it also conditions Americans to treat their neighbors with contempt. Most recently, we saw content creators using generative AI to feed harmful stereotypes about who receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Yahoo News reported that a YouTube account called Buffet Battle has an extensive feed of “AI-generated clips showing poor people, many of them Black, demanding tomahawk steaks, stealing food, or rioting in Walmart after their government benefits run out.” The posts on the account have racked up thousands of views. This confirms what some people believe, and influencers others to draw similar conclusions.
Dangerous Use of AI
Fox News was also caught using AI videos of Black SNAP recipients.
Further, many content creators and some established media outlets have aired reactions about the impact of SNAP delays from one demographic of people; Black people. This could suggest that only Black people receive SNAP benefits or that Black people are the largest recipients of SNAP. Neither is true.
Consider statistics about crime. Many people believe that crime is carried out by one profile of people. This profile is shaped, in large part, by what and who media outlets show when discussing crime. It’s also shaped by elected leaders seeking to influence one policy or another. For instance, years ago, I noticed that some elected leaders use the term “law and order” in the context of Black people. This could lead the broader community to believe that only Black people commit crime.
Harmful Messages About the Poor
Over the last decade or so, I’ve also witnessed a dangerous suggestion that persons in poverty have limited means because of a moral failing or a life of bad decisions. This is proffered to reduce concern and policy that would level the playing field to some extent. There is a suggestion that people are poor because of something they did or didn’t do. Seldom is there an acknowledgement of the systems and players that make it hard for some people to be upwardly mobile. There is rarely an acknowledgement about the impact of low wages and high costs, including the cost of health care and child care.
My point in sharing all of this is to remind readers that our views are often influenced by what we consume, who we listen to and to whom we engage. Before consuming content – or at the very least, as we’re consuming content – we need to consciously consider the source and the motivations of the source.
Jennifer R. Farmer is a crisis communications expert and founder Spotlight PR LLC. The firm helps clients build their platforms and protect their brands.