Media…a dangerous disconnect
We don’t take the time and do our research. We don’t take the time necessary to do our digging. We rely on clickbait headlines to tell us the full story when in actuality we’ve been given someone else’s opinion often far from the truth. We follow influencers that say they perpetuate truth rather their talking points were never rooted in reality. They simply are suppressing the truth to create a story of their own. It baffles me how lazy this generation is. I am including myself in “this.” We’ve relied on others in their catchy tagline post to give us the truth and their version of the truth is what we sing. We repeat boldly and confidently bits and pieces of what is said only to be blood-boiled about a half-truth, often time a narrative far from the truth.
I’ve listened to a number of people share their feelings about what’s been going on in the news recently. I’ve read many tweets and Instagram stories that have opened my eyes to the lack of responsibility we’ve taken in doing our own research. Many of what’s been shared through mainstream legacy media and in conversation are clickbait one-liners comparing polar opposites and somehow we’ve convinced ourselves these polar opposites are deemed worthy to compare. We’ve confused right to be wrong and wrong to be right. We’re confused rapists, child molesters, druggies, and murderers as our heroes and allies grieving over their lives that “fought for good” and died for honor. And we’ve condemned, spit on, and shun men and women who’ve fought and are fighting for freedom (in all that it entails), and are promoting care for those who are in need.
I am not here to convince you which way to think. You and I have pretty much made up our minds about which “side” we’re on (while I am not a fan of the whole “side” thing). But what I would like to encourage you to do while I still have your attention is to simply, do your research. Quit reading the clickbait headline alone. Quit allowing that to be the truth you carry. Quit reading the first line of a news article and use that as your source of proof. Quit confusing an opinion and calling it facts. Do your research.
I’ve never felt and looked dumber than I did a couple years ago when I read a headline that triggered the “need for justice” inside of me only for the whole truth to come out a couple days later that shared alarming discrepancies from what I initially shared on my social media platforms. Since then and during the past two years of heightened media coverage on triggering topics I’ve come to realize that in media, there is a dangerous disconnect. There is a dangerous disconnect from the truth. There’s a dangerous disconnect from reality. There’s a dangerous disconnect from accountability. There’s a dangerous disconnect from integrity. Media, the majority of media that is, is opinion-based, biased, and selective. Agenda is pushed and a narrative far from the truth is promoted.
You and I think differently, and that is quite alright. I love that actually. It proves how uniquely different we are. I urge you though, when It comes to matters in the media, do your research. Don’t share simply to be the first to have the tea. Don’t share or comment simply from being provoked and triggered by clickbait headlines. Don’t share your version of truth simply from reading the first line in an article. It’s dangerously depressing how idiotic we appear when the full truth comes out. Do your research. Especially if the news appears juicy, do your research. Don’t rely on media today to do it for you. They’ve picked their side. So, before you pick yours, do your research.