Nothing Snowballs Online Like Fear

Nothing Snowballs Online Like Fear

The Matt Townsend Show - Season 5, Episode 71 , Segment 1

Online Fear, Introverted Teachers, The Depression Miracle

Episode: Online Fear, Introverted Teachers, The Depression Miracle

  • Mar 23, 2016 4:00 pm
  • 43:31 mins

Adrienne Beard, writer in residence at Delta State University where she teaches journalism. Nowhere is information circulated more than on the internet, and nothing spreads faster than fear. Online, it’s as if fear brings people together. Tweets are circulated, articles are shared, and news coverage multiplies because stress and fear are contagious. From health crisis like Ebola, ISIS threats, and worries about the economy, and most recently the bombing in Brussels, our media is driven by fear. Why are we so easily influenced by fear? And what are the consequences of such a fear motivated media? Adrienne Beard's recent article, Nothing Snowballs Online Like Fear: How online fear feeds political smear campaigns, stock market rumors, and ISIS propaganda, discusses the media’s role in spreading the fear and how our reactions create more contagion.