The Spiral of Silence
Why Write About It?
I chose to use the spiral of silence for this post, as I feel it is an extremely important theory that, despite its extreme relevancy in the world today, does nod get talked about nearly enough. I also believe this to be one of the more shocking terms we covered in this round of presentations.
The Theory
The Spiral of Silence essentially states that due to a subconscious fear of isolation, the further away a person's opinion on a subject strays from the majority, the less likely that person will be to voice their opinion. A very prominent example of this theory in action (from my personal experience) comes in the form of three "volatile" topics. I had the belief instilled in me by my parents that I should never bring up money, politics, or religion in casual conversation, as it might lead to discourse.
The Theory's Origins
The Spiral of Silence theory was popularized in 1974 by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Noelle-Neumann's research for the theory began with the 1964 German Federal Elections. The two parties, the Christian Democratic Union–Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), were each projected to receive 45% of the votes. This was true until about two weeks before the election, when surveys showed that the CDU-CSU had somehow climbed up to a projected 50% of the vote. Like the survey indicated, the CDU-CSU took the election, but what changed in those last two weeks? Noelle-Neumann attributed the shift to a visit from the Queen of England, which supposedly greatly improved the morale of the CDU-CSU. With CDU-CSU party member confidence and vocality at a high, it led the SDP to keep quieter, as they felt they no longer held as strong of a position. It was the spiral of silence that cost them the election.
The Spiral of Silence Today
Today, although the theory rings incredibly true in regards to conversation, its validity has been weakened by modern communication methods. With the rise of the internet and social media, any person of any status can voice whatever opinions they might have almost anonymously with little consequence. This has given power to vocal minorities, for better or for worse. Another weak point of the Spiral of Silence theory lies in the rich, who will voice their opinions regardless of controversy, simply because they have the means to back themselves up.
Helpful Links
MassCommTheory.com Article: https://masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/
Britannica Article: https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiral-of-silence
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