George Gerbner is a professor of communications who founded the Cultivation theory in the 1960s, as a part of the Cultural Indicators Project.
What is the 'Cultivation' theory? The theory suggests that long-term exposure to media shapes how the consumers of media perceive the world and conduct themselves. How can this theory be applied? The cultivation hypothesis states that the more television people watch, the more likely they are to hold a view of reality that is closer to television's depiction of reality.
For many people who consume a lot of television, the delusional reality is what they truly believe the real world to be like, due to such long exposure to a certain 'fake' world. What are the weaknesses of this theory? When the cultivation theory is put into practice, the evidence shown is weak and limited. Also, some people have criticized that it can lead to an increased fear in violence, leading consumers to want to stay home and watch more television, further increasing their fear.
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