Hypodermic needle theory

Hypodermic needle theory

It suggests that the media sends messages into the audiences’ head. it influences them and changes their opinion. it was developed by theorists during ww1 by the frankfurt school.
 They are passive so they are immediately influenced by it. This can be done through radio, television, advertising and magazines. Mass media could influence a mass group of people, depending on their aim.
It suggests that media messages are injected directly into the brains of passive audiences.
In this theory the media is seen as powerful and able to ‘inject’ ideas into an audience who are seen as weak and passive and could be influenced by a message. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and during World War 2 films were used to ‘inject’ propaganda ideas promoting the Nazi cause to the German audience.
The Hypodermic theory comes from a fear of the mass media, and gives the media much more power than it can ever have in a democracy. The concept ignores the idea that not everyone in an audience behaves in the same way.