“Snowmageddon”, or Just a Good Story?

January 2021

It’s January in Michigan, so from a weather perspective, anything can happen. Up until now, we have had very little in the way of wintry weather.  Other than it has been rather blah and depressing.  Which is very typical of a Michigan winter.  Exceedingly short, gray, monochromatic days.  This is apparently about to change. Sadly, not the short and gray part.  “They” say we have a significant weather event on the way. A blizzard, or a “polar vortex”, which is now our colorful media-generated term for a sizeable snowstorm. They are calling for a veritable “Snowpocalypse”. I’m sure it’s nothing we haven’t seen before and can’t handle now.

That is not as significant as the fact that we’ve had well over a week’s notice that it was coming.  The storm even has a name, which is something new as well. To make it more personal.  They can even tell you how many million people will be impacted, as this storm makes its way across the continent. Just to add a little more sensationalism to the storyline.  And given they have over a week to spin their tale of “the snowstorm of the decade”, they can create quite a story indeed.

Now back in the day, only a few decades ago, when a blizzard was pending, we rarely had more than 24 hours’ notice.  This is a testimony to advances in meteorological technology; I will not deny that. And having advanced notice is a very good thing for safety’s sake.  I am all about preparedness.  But the approach generally taken by the media, the “they” I refer to above, does a great deal to really frighten people.  Filling them with enough apprehension that they begin behaving erratically.  What this really shows is how the media can use information to influence people, both in a positive and negative way. Even something as normal as a winter storm. Storms that are common and we have survived many times before.

The narrative in the media for this one essentially has everyone in a panic. Gas stations have lines at the pumps. Schools are closed before the snow even starts falling. Retail is in chaos. Grocery stores are jammed. People are stocking up like they will be housebound for several months. Grocery carts are packed with necessities: beer, soda pop, potato chips, hot pockets, ice cream and toilet paper.

Ok, that has nothing to do with the media, only eccentric American buying behaviors. But the fact that we have flocked to stores, purchasing to such an extent, is a testimony to the way we are so easily influenced by the media.  They are great at making a story.  Exaggeration is a wonderful story telling tool. Embellishing is good journalism, at least it is nowadays.

This begs the question; Are we better off not knowing so much? Is this part of the noise in life that sucks our lives away? The media build up is so powerful, it changes our buying behaviors and creates widespread anxiety.  Causing an already concerned society to stress and fret way beyond what would be considered normal.   I think I am pondering this because it showcases how susceptible we are to the power of today’s media.

As we all know but often fail to realize, the many facets of 21^st century media have the ability, not just to disseminate information, but if we allow it, to completely change our behaviors. It can shape our thoughts, beliefs, and actions.  Yes, it communicates, educates, and entertains but also shapes our opinion. Sometimes telling us what to think.  And that is not a good thing!  We need to be less easily led. We must be able to distinguish between true and false information as well as exaggeration.  And I am not just talking about the weather here!

Think back to the time of Covid-19.  That was a horrible thing indeed.  But how much of our thoughts about it were shaped by the media?  How much of what we think we know is fact, or hyperbole?  We need to be better able to evaluate the information we receive and make our own informed decisions. But that’s not how it works anymore.

Now, I am not a conspiracy theory guy.  I think much of what the media does for us is positive. Regardless, it’s not going away anytime soon, or ever.  Nevertheless, we tend to make our own fake news.  Our gullibility as a society is at an all-time high.  We are susceptible to persuasion, because we want to believe what we see, what we hear, and what we read.  But we often go a little too far. And again, I am not just talking about a winter storm here.  It’s a much different kind of storm, and far more dangerous.  It’s the blizzard of ignorance. And that is a much more threatening type of storm.

As far as this snowstorm goes, we haven’t even seen a flake yet.  Nevertheless, I just got back from filling my car with gas and a stop at the grocery store.  Like the lemming that I am, I bought a bunch of soda, chips, and toilet paper. You never really know, do you?  Or do we?  I guess I’ll go check Facebook and see what’s going on.  Someone please tell me what to do!