(Perloff, 2021) focuses on political communication and the biases present in perceiving political media. Political media consumption is quite unique as people all have their own political stances and biases which affect the way they perceive the ideas they engage with. The journal mentions how people are more likely to be only engaging with people on their own political side as it is easier to not feel that their ideas are being challenged which creates echo chambers on the internet and more polarization between sides, which is also supported by media and its unique aspects. There is also a point made about how the formation of opinion based on biases and different facts being presented on different sides causes different “universes of truth”. These reasons once again causing more polarization between partisans and the part political media consumption plays in it.

There is no engagement between the two different political sides which creates polarization in the public and further divides humans. I will acknowledge that I also am not willing to consume a more conservative side’s content if I am not ready to judge every single point made about it and I usually consume such content being reviewed by people who are on a similar political standing that I am. It is way easier to agree with something rather than being challenged on your own views which makes people uncomfortable, it is described as cognitive dissonance in the reading. Openly listening to the other side has also become increasingly more difficult as polarization between sides have become more obvious. I have felt at certain times that even agreeing with a single point made by a conservative could lead for someone who is more liberal to be judged and vice versa, this belief that the other side’s ideas and beliefs are totally wrong has created a judgmental world where everyone is constantly walking on eggshells trying to not to anger their own side even though they might have a point which is described as the spiral of silence in the reading. People are also literally unable to sometimes see the beliefs of the other side objectively because of the algorithms on people’s media devices, they want people to keep scrolling on an app without feeling uncomfortable or challenged so they are more likely to keep them satisfied by showing them likeminded people with similar views which lets them see the world in their bubble which creates echo chambers.

The recent trend of “cancelling” on the internet can also be mentioned and how it changed the internet culture as well as how people can become hostile and hateful especially online. I can personally say that I am more scared of being “cancelled” on the internet rather than having a face-to-face confrontation. The unique aspects of media and especially political communication online affects political discourse and interaction between people by causing them to be more vicious to each other. The way each side is portrayed causes people to be dehumanized in partisan culture which makes them unable to connect to each other. Political communication on the internet has caused the hostile media affect which has caused people to be hypersensitive and more distrusting towards each other as they feel like they are constantly under attack for their views. These factors all combine to create further divide between sides and create a hostile media environment especially in political communication spaces.

References
Perloff, R.M. (2021) ‘Biases, the beholder, and media effects’, The Dynamics of Political Communication, pp. 235–266. doi:10.4324/9780429298851-11.
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