In today’s world, media and technology have become a large influencer of interaction and life organization. Profound effects, some being beneficial and others detrimental, have been witnessed in people’s lives and the society at large with the upsurge in technological advancements. To what extent can an audience rely on the validity and dependability of information sources provided in any media? Public trust in the media is among the issues arising from media and technology. It could be argued that public satisfaction on any information depends on the credibility which mostly, has been offended by media and technology in the present world.
The genuineness, indifference, and biasness of information on technological media remain to be huge constituents of media trust. Knudsen et al., (2021) describes media trust as the willingness of the public to be vulnerable to content based on the expectation that the media will perform in a satisfactory manner. Although the prevalence of media websites that provide information to users has beneficially impacted people in their quench for knowledge, the channels to be trusted remain as the question at hand. Why would a source be more reliable than another especially if the content covered is a fact and a variance is noted?
How true the content shared through media and technology is is widely put to question by an audience and affects trustworthiness to the various media. Substantially, journalistic content and publications should provide undistorted versions of events and reality as stated by Knudsen et al., (2021). Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news are ways in which false information could be spread, Stromback et al., (2019). Some information could be shared with an intent to mislead the readers. Misinformation in matters such as health goes against humanity and therefore deteriorates the capacity of media and technology in the society.
Further, the objectivity of content shared through technological media influences public trust in the media. Journalistic content and publications are expected to steer clear and free of irrationality and influence. Lippmann (2022) explains discipline maintenance in content sharing through any media; application of an impartial voice and a neutral style of writing with verification. Journalists who select sources to express what is really their own point of view, and then use the neutral voice to make it seem objective, are engaged in a form of deception, (Kirat, 2014). The eminence of the field is thus damaged due to unprofessionalism and dishonesty.
Finally, the biasness of information dispatched through media and technology influences public trust to a great extent. Media bias is the inclination of publication writers and producers within the mass media to a particular side in the choice of events, occurrences, and updates that are publicized and the manner of presentation. Articles and publications that bring out political bias by leaning to a political party jeopardize democracy in a society. Mainstream media bias, as stated by Lipmann (2022), avoids stories that could offend anyone and should be applied to equalize all in the society. Biases in media and technology greatly influence human behavior in society due to the capacity to influence justifications in things.
Media and technology generally influence the society by persuasion, presentation of facts, and positive or negative manipulation. The content’s credibility is gauged by the audience by the mode of presentation and how satisfying the information is depending on the known facts. Public satisfaction for the content influences their trust on the media. Dissimilarity of facts, lack of objectivity and biasness in media puts into question the efficacy of media and technology in the society.
