Humanity’s need for connection and compliance is evident in our day-to-day lives; from stereotypical high school cliques to our neanderthal ancestors, for whom a lack of communication with their tribe means certain death. As the old saying goes, “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” Through drawing, talking, writing, and now texting, we have adapted new ways to socialize and share ideas, even in the face of wars, epidemics, and even loneliness pandemics. For many, loneliness is a greater source of discomfort than even disease; in fact, over 30% of adults have stated their greatest fear is dying alone (“Dignity in Dying”). From first glance, this fear should be eliminated in the twenty-first century, where our sources of connection are no longer limited to the people physically around us, which means an increase in opportunity for socialization. Because of this, however, parts of our identity now take root in the shows we binge, the influencers we follow, and even the songs we listen to. Yet, as singer MARINA once warned, “If you are not very careful / Your possessions will possess you.” In the same way, if we are not mindful of our attitudes, compliance, and media comprehension, we risk losing control of our own beliefs. Rather than consciously choosing what we consume, we may instead be shaped by what we watch and eventually become the consumed.

Uncritical consumption of media allows social media and televised programs to infiltrate our thoughts, morals, and actions with compelling storylines. Through emotional investment and repeated viewings, the media has caused many to form “parasocial” attachments to narratives that are not their own. Those who watch more films are “more likely to be more influenced by how the world is framed by television programs… especially regarding topics of which the viewer has little first-hand experience,” according to a communications professor and author (Peterson). Though books, shows, and movies allow us to “live” life through another’s perspective, this immersion can create a false sense of understanding and instill the idea that we can truly understand the bigger picture, despite our peephole view of everything occurring in the world. Online platforms have also made it much easier to expose large numbers of people to the same false narratives at once, and thus perpetuating cycles of discrimination and condemnation. Despite being guaranteed freedom of speech, if we mindlessly concur with every claim, we end up putting our own liberty at risk.

In relation, government censorship often amplifies “narrow-minded” assumptions. Often, undemocratic political parties wield media against the people: through dictating what their citizens are exposed to, they hope to trap citizens in false narratives. For example, political scientists Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret Roberts from Harvard University noted that in China, online posts calling for collective action are far more likely to be deleted than any other posts (King et al. 2). On top of that, “media consumption affects social behavior by reinforcing or challenging existing social norms and values”, which forms a system that only benefits the livelihood of the oppressors (Veedhi 2). This consumeristic strategy only intensifies pre-existing ideas that may not take the whole truth into account. Without critical introspection, we may easily lose control of who we are to what we watch.

Works Cited

King, Gary, et al. “How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression.” American Political Science Review, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2026.

Peterson, Stacey. Introduction to Communication Inquiry & Theory. Open educational resource under Creative Commons. Pressbooks, Pressbooks, https://pressbooks.montgomerycollege.edu/commtheory/front-matter/introduction/. Accessed 24 January 2026.

“Survey finds that being alone is Britain's biggest fear about death – Dignity in Dying.” Dignity in Dying, 22 April 2008, https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/news/survey-finds-alone-britains-biggest-fear-death/. Accessed 24 January 2026.

Veedhi, Ambedkar. “The Impact of Media Consumption On Social Behavior and Attitudes.” IJRAR, vol. 5, no. 1, 2018, p. 2, https://www.ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR19D5836.pdf. Accessed 24 January 2026.