All Your Feeds Should Follow This Rule

Counter Tech Giants, Fake News, et al with this Strategy

What do Barack Obama, The Social Dilemma, and your Mom have in common?

And they are right! Mindless, unchecked consumption of social media will cause our brains to rot. Not in the unfounded way moms claim of course; but by making us follow only what we know, by keeping us firmly in the boxes we like, by hooking us through confirmation bias.

Who does not want to be ‘proved right’?

Even if it is through someone else’s opinion- that may or may not be grounded in absolute knowledge, rooted in bias, or plain just as half baked, it is confirmation and we will remember it and back it.

I know I do it. It helps me with ‘See, I told you so!’ or pat myself for being so wise, etc. etc. I freely admit I love it! If it reinforces or agrees with what I say, I am, unfortunately, more willing to share, tweet, and promote certain news items and threads. It’s all done in the most careless of ways, but it all adds up.

Like landfills and pollution, it slowly assumes gigantic proportions.

So, how do we safeguard against our natural inclination to believe and follow what we think is true? Especially in an age, where information is plenty but verification daunting and time-consuming?

One single tip- simple, straightforward, and effective- it truly works very well.

Your reading material- whether books, social media feeds, blog posts, news, whatever the style and format you consume- should be balanced. Some of them should act as windows — opening into different worlds, views, and experiences. Some should serve as mirrors of your own life and self and aspirations.

Simple, but so effective. And easier said than done!

Do you know where I got that wonderful tip from?

A book on developing reading habits in kids.

Specifically, “How to Raise a Reader”- an amazing book written by two editors, of The New York Times…

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