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Pages:
2 pages/β‰ˆ550 words
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Style:
APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Total cost:
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Topic:

The Spiral of Silence and Social Media

Essay Instructions:

My chosen theory: Spiral of Silence;
Please use the 3 readings I provided, write 2 pages of scripts for my presentation.
See "Spiral of Silence Pre" for guidelines.
See attached
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Please use the 3 readings I provided, write 2 pages of scripts for my presentation. I would need 3-4 main points. One paragraph per main point so I can create PPT based on that.
1.Explain the theory Spiral of Silence, history of the theory, etc (Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974).)
2.Spiral of Silence and social media —- readings conclusion (Fox, J. & Holt, L.F. (2018).)
3.real world example about the Chinese social context of Weibo (Li, W. & Sun, Y. (2017).)
Readings:
• Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24, 43-51. This article is one of two that features the foundational research in which Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann proposed her now-prominent spiral of silence theory, maintaining that fear of isolation prevents people from articulating ideas and attitudes if they believe those ideas and attitudes depart from those of their interlocutors.
• Fox, J. & Holt, L.F. (2018). Fear of isolation and perceived affordances: The spiral of silence on social networking sites regarding police discrimination. Mass Communication and Society, 21, 533-554. This article attempts to expand previous understandings of spiral of silence theory into socially mediated contexts. To do so, the authors conduct a study of about 400 Facebook users’ engagement in conversations on the platform about police discrimination.
• Li, W. & Sun, Y. (2017). Re-examining the spiral of silence theory in the Chinese social context of Weibo. Intercultural Communication Studies, 26(1), 79-108. In this article, the researchers question the applicability of spiral of silence theory in computer-mediated environments by examining the controversy surrounding Weibo’s decision to ban an online talk show for openly endorsing homosexuality.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

The Spiral of Silence Theory
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The Spiral of Silence Theory
History of the Theory
The spiral of silence is a 1970s theory by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann to explain why Germans who disagreed with Hitler decided to go with the masses by remaining silent until the end of his regime. Thus, the theory represents the two-faced behaviour of some individuals by refusing to pronounce their stand for fear of being ostracized. As Tocqueville noted, such people are usually more frightened of isolation than committing an error, and so they align with the masses despite having different views. The individuals in circumstances where they have to make a decision are usually involved in a complex process of decision making by utilizing a “quasi-statistical organ,” in which they observe their social environment, assess the trend in opinions, and most importantly, evaluate the strength of their proposal, the urgency, and finally the probability of succeeding (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). If the chances of success are low, the individual abandons his ideas and conforms to the majority. 
Spiral of Silence and Social Media
The spiral of silence is still at play even in the modern digital society, where people fear to announce their position regarding certain pertinent issues. The creators and supporters of social media hoped that the platforms might provide an avenue for shy individuals to voice their minority views without fearing the risk of isolation. However, it has become apparent that some people have exhibited less willingness to discuss certain stories on social media than in person. Fox and Holt (2018) attribute this fear to several other factors: network association perceptions, social presence, anonymity, and persistence associated with opinion ...
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