Television shows which glamourise fame, luxury, and wealth accumulation such as Made in Chelsea or Keeping Up With The Kardashians, make viewers cold-hearted towards the poor, a new study suggests.
New research from the London School of Economics (LSE) found that even 60 seconds of exposure to materialistic media is enough to significantly increase anti-welfare sentiment.
Study author Dr Rodolfo Leyva of LSE’s Department of Media and Communications said: “Humans are inherently materialistic but also very social and communal.
“The way this is expressed depends on our culture. If there is more emphasis on materialism as a way to be happy, this makes us more inclined to be selfish and anti-social, and therefore unsympathetic to people less fortunate.
“This study can contribute to explanations for why the UK public’s support for welfare to aid the impoverished and unemployed has been decreasing.”
A control group was exposed to neutral images such as adverts about the London underground, natural scenery and newspaper headlines about dinosaurs.
Both groups were then asked questions that measured, their attitudes towards wealth and success, government benefits, and impoverished people.
Results showed that even a small amount of exposure to materialistic media had a negative impact on both anti-welfare attitudes and support for anti-welfare policies
Participants were also asked about viewing of nine TV shows, such as The Apprentice, X-Factor, Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Made in Chelsea, as well as their reading habits concerning five daily tabloid newspapers which regularly feature stories on wealthy celebrities, and ten magazines, such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Esquire that advertise luxury products.
Results showed those who also regularly watched shows such as The Apprentice and X-Factor, are much more likely to hold “stronger materialistic and anti-welfare attitudes than lighter consumers of these shows.”
Dr Leyva added: “Results suggest that momentary exposure to and regular consumption of materialistic media messages (MMMs) induces stronger materialism and anti-welfare attitudes.
telegraph.co.uk
