Double Think: How many people in today's society do you think have fallen for this? How powerful is today's media?

[Ms. Shields]

[isabeli...@ywcpa.org]

I'd say many since math was created by man and can be altered to who ever has the power to change numbers. Media has a huge impact on peoples lives since their are so many people who focus internet websites such as facebook, twitter, and any other internet website.

[amairanira...@ywcpa.org]

I think many people have believed that are in the wrong to follow the opinion of others. The media today play with the will of the people because the influence to rely on the same argument. As example in the book 1984 by George Orwell , O'Brien 's character says to Winston Smith , "2+2=5" to control his own perception of what the party wants everyone to think .In the same context, we ​​find examples handled by the media as commercial in our daily lives. For example, if we see a person on television who thirsts and certain brand of soda achieved thirst disappear then next time we feel thirsty, this commercial will influence us to buy a soda of that brand to satisfy "ourselves". Thus, I believe that the media today is so powerful, making us fall into stereotypes to forget our own judgment of the situation.

[Paigee Moore]

People in today's society that have fallen for this definitely know that 2+2=4 not 5. However they are lacking intelligence because their mind is so tainted by the power of the media and political campaigns. People have allowed others to get in their mind and contradict their own doctrine. Just as in 1984, the Party used doublethinking to control the citizens and contradict opinions. In today's society, they use this ability to completely brainwash people for their own benefit. They try to push the "skinny is the beautiful" agenda through social media, television and ads. Obviously, that notion is false. People of all sizes are beautiful. However, they feed off insecurity and misconstrue the idea of what beautiful means.

[darie...@ywcpa.org]

 I think the majority of people in today's society have fallen for this. Sometimes it is as simple as not knowing the information and following someone else's thought, however, when it comes to how society portrays ideas and views, it typically comes from a more persuasive and manipulative platform. We have the tendency to follow what society tells us despite our better judgement. Being a part of the "in crowd" is more appealing than standing by your decision, especially in a day and age when everything is publicly criticized and shunned. Alongside that, it is easier, nobody cares if you are wrong as long as you have enough followers, retweets and likes.

 The media is an extremely powerful force in our lives and it dictates how we see ourselves, what we think of others, what we say, what we do, and how we think. When put into perspective, it is easier to see the influence media has in our lives, however, we do not usually put these things into perspective. After all, if everyone is defending this lifestyle it has to be right, right?

[faviola...@ywcpa.org]

If media says the math problem is correct, the majority of the people will believe it and will fall for it. Knowing the world in which we live in today, full of technology where we have access to media and access to what people's opinion is, the majority will believe what most people online believe. Media has become so powerful that we've forgotten about the original truth that lies in textbooks, newspapers, or the library. This is very similar in "1984" since everything that's written is false and updated with information that the government demands to put. Most of the people will believe it, and won't even think of the odds that it might be false. Since the book takes place before media was around, newspapers, magazines, books, etc. played the same role as the media does today.