Shaped by the Media: Are Our Opinions Really Our Own?
A 60-minute session on where our opinions actually come from: the family WhatsApp group, the reels we scroll past, the films we grew up on, the people we quietly mute. Are we thinking for ourselves, or repeating what we were shown? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
When big news breaks, where do you go first to find out what's really going on: a person, a channel, an app, or nowhere?
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
The Family WhatsApp Group
Every morning, the family group fills up. A miracle cure, a scary warning, a message that says “forward to ten people”. You know half of it is false.
- 2
Checking Reviews First
Before a film, you check the rating. Before a restaurant, you check the stars.
- 3
What Films Taught Us About Love
In the films you grew up on, the hero follows the girl until she says yes. He fights for her. He won't take no for an answer.
- 4
Buying Things From Reels
You weren't looking for anything. Then a reel shows you a gadget, a serum, a kurta. Thirty seconds later, it's in your cart.
- 5
Posting About Every Cause
Something terrible happens in the world. Within an hour, everyone's story has the same picture. You haven't posted anything yet. Someone notices.
- 6
Not Having An Opinion
Everyone at the table is talking about the big news. Someone turns to you and asks what you think. Honestly, you don't know enough to say.
- 7
Beauty Standards On Your Feed
You take a selfie. Before you post it, you smooth your skin, brighten your face, slim your jaw. Now the real photo looks wrong to you.
- 8
Relationship Advice From Reels
You and your partner have a small fight. Later, a reel tells you that what they did is a “red flag”. Now you're not sure it was small after all.
- 9
Money Tips From Influencers
Your father says: fixed deposit, gold, maybe a bit of land. A 25-year-old on Instagram says: stocks, crypto, quit your job. Both sound very sure.
- 10
Muting People Who Disagree
An old friend keeps posting opinions you can't stand. You don't want a fight. So you quietly mute them, and your feed feels calmer.
- 11
What Kids Learn Online
Your nine-year-old nephew says something at dinner that sounds like a grown-up's opinion. You ask where he heard it. “A YouTuber,” he says.
- 12
Our Opinions Were Never Ours
Before the phone, there was the family, the neighbourhood and one newspaper.
The line to leave with
Of the opinions you said out loud this week, which ones did you actually think through, and which ones did you simply pass along?
More boards,more ways in.
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