White noise (slang)
The term white noise—the 'sh' noise produced by a signal containing all audible frequencies of vibration—is sometimes used as a colloquialism to describe a backdrop of ambient sound, creating an indistinct commotion, seamless in such way no specific sounds composing it as a continuum can be isolated as a veritable instance of some defined familiar sound so that masks or obliterates underlying information. e.g. chatter from multiple conversations within the acoustics of a confined place. The information itself may have characteristics that achieve this effect without the need to introduce a masking layer. A common example of this usage is a politician including more information than needed to mask a point they don't want noticed.
The term is used for music that is discordant with no melody, disagreeable, harsh or dissonant.
Use by the media and in literature
On the January 11, 2005 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America, Claire Shipman claimed "the political rhetoric on Social Security is white noise" to most Americans.[1]
The novel White Noise (1985) by Don DeLillo explores several themes that emerged during the mid- to late twentieth century. The title is a metaphor that shows how the symptoms of postmodern culture came together to make it very difficult for an individual to actualize their ideas and personality.
References
- Claire Shipman Good Morning America January 11, 2005