Another presentation that I really enjoyed listening to was the key terms presentation from group four. In that presentation, I enjoyed Payton Kiasevicz’s presentation on the Spiral of Silence.
The Spiral of Silence in simple terms means that individuals will be more confident in outwardly speaking their opinion when others around them believed the same thing. However, when surrounding individuals do not have the same opinion, individuals are likely to keep their opinions silent to avoid being rejected or isolated.
Elisabeth Noelle Neumann was the German political scientist who pioneered this concept. She proposed the Spiral of Silence theory to explain why the Germans who disagreed with Hitler and Nazis kept their opinions silent until the regime and been destroyed and Hitler was dead.
Humans, by nature, are social creatures. However, we all have an internal fear of being exiled and not accepted by those around us. So, in order to combat this, we observe others’ behaviors, tendencies, and opinions to see what is met with approval or rejection.
As a result, this mindset is greatly affecting society around us. But in what ways? Unfortunately, there will always be a voice and opinion that is silent out of fear of criticism from others. Not everyone will have the courage and support to speak their opinions. Instead of having courage to speak their mind, they will either stay silent or conform to the ideas of others around them.
The one instance in which the Spiral of Silence does not occur is when the entire group agrees. If all of the individuals have the same mindset on issues, everyone will be confident to speak their mind to those around them. However, when these is not unity in opinions, someone will not feel comfortable to speak their mind to others.
The Spiral of Silence typically comes up when there are major controversial issues brought to the table. Minor issues typically do not bother individuals in conversation. However, large scale issues tend to make individuals uncomfortable and shy away from voicing their opinions.
Overall, I learned that the Spiral of Silence is a cycle and will continue until individuals are willing to speak up and voice their opinions. Rather than backlashing on individuals for having differing opinions, we need to protect everyone and their right to speak freely. We are entitled to our own thoughts and should not feel pressure from society to keep our thoughts captive. We can support one another and agree to disagree in certain situation!
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