Limitations of Mass Media in Creating a Culture of Peace

Abstract

The mass media, and the media in general, play an extremely important role in every society, as well as in people’s daily lives. This role was crucial even before the number and type of media, and thus the way they work, were multiplied by digitalization and migration to online digital spaces. Today, we have a situation where a certain number of people prefer to be informed through social rather than traditional media, even about issues that affect life and health. With all this in mind, it is logical to think that the media can act for the purpose of achieving any proclaimed goal, and that this action will be successful, and without significant limits in the possibilities of their action. However, when we talk about creating and promoting a culture of peace, by analyzing the most important elements, such as the ontological and phenomenological nature of peace, and war as the opposite, by analyzing and defining the ethics of peace and war, we conclude that human nature, and beyond, the nature of life on Earth, as well as history and inherited experiences from the past, in juxtaposition with the phenomenological and ontological features of the media, shows significant limitations of the media of mass communication in order to achieve this humane and desirable goal. These limits are deeply rooted in the phenomenon of peace, in the phenomenon of war, in the nature of people and society, as well as in the nature of the mass media. However, what the media can do and are not limited to is the promotion of elements of a culture of peace and non-violence, such as tolerance, dialogue, public discourse that promotes and respects differences, as well as other elements that work to calm tensions and promote a nonviolent approach to conflict prevention and resolution.