In addition to focusing on the positive, it’s important to minimize the extent to which we dwell on the negative. Our media sources are often filled with negative messages describing the problems of the world.
Sometimes they represent social issues that are important to be concerned with, but sometimes they merely cover depressing events that we can do nothing about.
Just as accidents create rubbernecking on the highway, this latter type of news is what often attracts our attention. However, it also fills our mind with a range of negative images and emotions. This, in turn, may increase the likelihood that we remain in a pessimistic, problem-solving mindset. It takes our mind away from the visions of what we really desire. Fortunately, some endeavors such as Pangea Day have taken action to address this issue.
One arena where a negative, problem-solving approach is very pervasive is advertising. I recently heard a radio interview with a company experimenting with a novel technology. They utilize headband sensors to gauge individuals’ emotional responses to commercials and advertising.
In the interview, the company representative described two examples. The first commercial, for a kitchen cleaner, conveys the message that if you’re cleaning your kitchen with a regular sponge, the germs in it yield the equivalent of rubbing raw chicken on the surfaces. (Ack!) The commercial shows the advertised cleaner coming in to “save the day.”
A second commercial, for a career site, describes a person who currently hates their job, and again shows how the career site “saves the day.” The experts noted that many commercials follow this pattern of describing a problem, instilling a feeling of anxiety or fear, and then pairing a positive emotion with the entrance of their problem-solving product via uplifting imagery and music.
The reason their technology is becoming so popular is because it enables advertisers to gauge the magnitude with which their advertisements create the negative emotion/positive emotion disparity in viewers.
If this measurement is used as a “gauge of success” for commercials, guess which direction commercials will continue to head?
We’ve all heard the hypothesis that people would get fewer headaches if there weren’t so many aspirin commercials–those headaches may become much worse! To make matters even more interesting, the same company has begin testing to gauge viewers’ reactions to political advertisements as well.
While the owner doesn’t foresee any potential for misuse of the technology, it could promote the creation of messages that further polarize people and decrease their incentive for taking a vision-based approach. On the other hand, the technology might also encourage creation of media that take a vision-based approach, instilling positive emotions in viewers. As a starting point, perhaps they could utilize their headband sensors on viewers of films at Pangea Day.
I try to steer clear of too many commercials. It’s relatively difficult to avoid all the negative messages in television, print and internet media, but I believe we should limit our exposure when possible, and be aware of how it’s impacting our thinking.
Simple steps that also benefit us in other ways, such as reducing the amount of television we watch, are likely to have a positive impact.
This is not about ignoring the change that needs to occur in the world by tuning it out altogether; it’s simply about conditioning ourselves to view it differently.
When you do hear or see a negative news story, envision what positive outcome you’d like to see for those impacted by the tragedy, be it fire, war, disease or crime. Perhaps you’ll even see a way that your own actions can benefit them or individuals like them, even if indirectly.
Sources:
Gladstone, B. (interviewer). (2007, November 2). [Radio broadcast]. On the Media: Your Brain on Commercials. New York: New York Public Radio.
Photo by Flickr user Aranami. Size adjusted. License.