Using nudges to gently push people towards their real interests : the modern way of manipulation or a revolutionary and acceptable solution of many problems that even media should consider?

Abstract

Nudging is a promising concept that should create an acceptable compromise between paternalists and libertarians. Through this thesis the concept of nudging will be elaborated on in an extensive way. Not only by aiming to come up with a clear definition, but also by explaining all factors of this definition extensively. By explaining how nudges could work and how it is possible to make nudges acceptable by both libertarians and paternalists I tried to answer the question whether or not nudging can be acceptable and desirable to use within media. Although in the first part of this thesis it already becomes clear that nudges do not have a sharp definition, it still appears to be a noble endeavor that can help solve a lot of societal problems without banning options. By adding criteria like akrasia, inertia and queasiness, nudging will be bounded better and within the first part that appeared enough to use the promising concept to push society to more wellbeing. However, by exploring the concrete case of the media by applying nudging, it became clear that the concept isn’t defined enough to just blindly accept it as a noble and positive strive. Although nudging definitely appears to be possible within legal frameworks, as for instance defined by UNESCO, and even within normative frameworks like an ethical code of journalism, it became clear that it is probably a bit too easy to justify a manipulation as a nudge. Besides that, for an actor like the media that has to deal with reality, there are a lot of subjects in which just too many points of view exist; media often have no specific goal they want to achieve as policies often do. I will argue that objectivity is not realistic, but that nudging isn’t necessarily a panacea either.