Description
The purpose of this study is to compare the relationship between the level of media freedom in the U.S. and Iran, and the global knowledge of individuals living in either of these two countries. The free-flow of information is traditionally associated with an increase in global knowledge and political behavior. In contrast, media censorship is positively correlated to political passivity and ignorance. However, the current boom of information outlets (e.g., social networking sites and blogging) seems to be creating an obstacle for the effects of censorship. In fact, such repression of media may trigger the reactance instinct, which contends that individuals will seek out the information that is being concealed from them; thus, creating a more active and knowledgeable population. Although similar studies have addressed the concept of reactance as a direct result of suppression of information, few studies have been conducted on the current relationship between censorship and consumption of news media and global knowledge. A survey approach, using a non-randomly selected sample of the general population (based on availability) from the U.S. and Iran were asked about their news media consumption, the mediums through which they gain this information, and their knowledge of current global events around the world. The findings of this study indicated that there is a significant difference between the U.S. and the Iranian sample with respect to perceived censorship and global knowledge. Iranians tended to score higher on both the perceived censorship scale and the global knowledge index than the U.S. participants, indicating that a higher perception of censorship may be correlated to a higher level of global knowledge. There were also significant differences between males and females in terms of global knowledge, as well, which illustrates a gap in knowledge with regards to gender.
