Theory Of The Spiral Of Silence

Theory of the spiral of silence

Introduction

No, I’m not in favor … although … thinking about it … yes, I’m in favor of what my colleagues say. Many times we have been victims of social pressure or we have seen someone who has been. At present, the theory of the spiral of silence is present in our daily lives although we do not realize. Human beings by nature are sociable, we cannot remain alone or isolated. And if we want to be accepted in a group we must recognize what the predominant opinion is and join it. In the current essay we will study as public opinion affects our behavior, making it adapt to the predominant aptitude in society. We will show arguments and examples that evidence how we modify our behavior on us in order not to feel excluded and in the end we will draw some conclusions.

Developing

But first we must ask ourselves, what is the spiral of silence? German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle Neumann tells us about the relationship between majorities and social minorities. They describe this natural tendency of human beings by hiding their opinions or thoughts so as not to be rejected or receive some kind of punishment for not sharing the opinion of the people around them, in order to belong to a group. Man by nature is social, we require another to be able to work, learn and evolve. By having the need to integrate, we lose our own judgment and we become slaves of society. The spiral of silence is anywhere where the exchange exchange occurs.

Noellen Neumann content us that this is due to two types of fear: the fear of being isolated and fear of more significant consequences. The first could be the case of a young scientist who has some sympathy with the Catholic religion and avoid telling her friends;The second fear can be the case of a young woman who opposes the objectives of her superiors in front of workers can run the risk of being fired.

In my personal experience, I do not drink alcohol and not because they do not leave me or something, but because it knows horrible, I do not find pleasure and I do not understand why others like. Last Saturday was the birthday of a friend of my promotion, I turned eighteen years old. So he made a party at his home, I went with 4 friends and I was the only woman in the group, so everyone started taking and smoking. They know that I am not to drink, even so they served me a beer swallow and I said no, in fact I had my bottle of soda, they started telling me that little bit at least, it is Rodrigo’s birthday, he takes and then whatLow with soda, among other things. Feeling that pressure to be at a party where everyone took and I was the only one who did not, ended up accessing. At least to stop insisting, after a while a friend arrived with his crush;She didn’t take or smoke either, then being two who did not take the pressure was not so much, some no longer insisted and other people of the party said that we were "boring". The rest of the night we had a good time, we dance, we had fun. I think that at night I just took that drink and then we left.

But now thinking about the starting situation, it is really true that this theory tells us. If I felt that feeling of not fitting;Obviously my friends were not going to leave me with people I did not know, but being the only one in the group I was not taking, I did not want to be excluded. That feeling of the minority disappeared when it was no longer just me, we were two. And when another glass served me, I said that it was not or just passed it to another;I no longer felt the need to take to fit with them.

The media are main responsible for the spiral of silence. Because people turn to the means to be informed and determine if their opinion is a majority or minority. Even some media hide information on certain issues and this alters the public’s opinion generating disputes or silences.

In addition, the theory tells us about the existence of the noisy minority this can become as influential as the majority of time. People with a high educational, socioeconomic level and those who do not fear will remain, are more prone to express their opinion in a public way regardless of the opinions of others. There are two types of noisy minorities. Hardcore nonconformists are people who have already been rejected and are not afraid to say their opinions. And the intellectuals who believe they are ahead of our time.

And now is when we wonder what do we do? How do we fight most? The answer is very easy and is in something we use every day, the Internet and social networks. These help us to find people who share our opinions and beliefs;either on blog, web pages or apps. Expressing ourselves on social networks does not release the fear of rejection, and eliminates the spiral of silence. The Internet not only allows us to tear down the barriers we have when we do not express ours. Unlike the traditional media that only limit themselves to exposing the opinion of the majority, the Internet provides empowerment, available information, comment on any subject and the safety of people do not change their ideas just because most think in a certain way.

In conclusion, for fear of staying alone we let other people influence us and control us in a certain way so that we think the same, whether in a political, social or cultural issue. It is not bad to want to belong to a group, what is wrong is to stop being who we are to accept us. Many times we have heard the phrase who loves you, will love you for how you are and it is true, we should not stop expressing our ideas and thoughts for people who may not need in our lives. The ideal would be to look for people who share similar opinions or people who are not going to reject you just because you do not think the same as they. We can be the noisy minority that defends their views regarding an issue without missing respect for other people. 

conclusion

On the Internet it is easier to express ourselves;When we enter Facebook and comment on some publication, we see the different types of telling you and notice that not everyone thinks the same, but that we find different people who share their thinking. They even like comments because many people think the same or similar. Let’s not stop being who we are, let’s not be influenced by what comes out on television or reality. Each one has a different opinion, that is what makes us unique and differentiates us from others. If we all thought the same and we thought the same we will not evolve as people or as a society. They even like comments because many people think the same or similar. Let’s not stop being who we are, let’s not be influenced by what comes out on television or reality. 

Each one has a different opinion, that is what makes us unique and differentiates us from others. If we all thought the same and we thought the same we will not evolve as people or as a society. They even like comments because many people think the same or similar. Let’s not stop being who we are, let’s not be influenced by what comes out on television or reality. Each one has a different opinion, that is what makes us unique and differentiates us from others. If we all thought the same and we thought the same we will not evolve as people or as a society.