Sensationalism and Us: Are We the Problem with Media?
A 60-minute session on our own appetite for sensational news: the bait we click, the shouting we watch, the videos we film and forward, the gossip we can't stop following. If the media gives us whatever we reward, how much of the problem is us? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
When you pass a crowd gathered on the road, what's your honest first instinct: slow down and look, stop and ask what happened, or keep walking?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Clicking On Clickbait
A headline says, “You won't believe what this actor said.” You know it's a trick. You click anyway, and it's nothing.
- 2
Loud TV News Shows
Every evening, eight people shout at once on the news. The anchor shouts loudest. Your family says it's terrible, and watches it every night.
- 3
Filming Instead Of Helping
There's been an accident on the road. A crowd gathers. Half of them have their phones out, filming. Nobody has called an ambulance yet.
- 4
Watching Disaster Videos
A plane crashes. Within an hour, a video of the last seconds is in every group. You know what it shows. Your thumb is already on play.
- 5
Following Murder Cases
A murder is all over the news. Every evening there's a new detail about the couple. Your family follows it like a serial, guessing what happened.
- 6
Celebrities' Private Lives
A film star is in hospital. Cameras wait outside all night. The next day, they photograph his children's toys being delivered.
- 7
Being First To Share News
Something big has just happened. You saw it first. Your fingers are already typing it into every group you're in.
- 8
Skipping The Good News
You often say the news is too depressing. Then you see two headlines: one about a village that built a school, one about a scandal.
- 9
Joining The Online Outrage
Someone says something awful on a show. By night, it's everywhere. You've only seen a ten-second clip, but you already know they should be finished.
- 10
Paying For News
A good article stops halfway and asks you to pay ₹99 a month. You close it and find a free version full of ads and dramatic headlines.
- 11
Exaggerating Our Own Stories
You tell your friends about a small scare on the road. By the third time you tell it, the truck was bigger, the brakes louder, the escape closer.
- 12
Drama Makes People Care
Without the noise, some stories would never be heard at all.
The line to leave with
Of everything you clicked, watched or forwarded this week, how much would you be comfortable with the people in those stories seeing you do it?
More boards,more ways in.
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