As tensions continue to rise across the world, you’ve gotta be able to hear perspectives from both sides of an argument.
Doesn’t matter if you agree with it or not, that’s for you to decide. Having a broader sense of knowledge allows you to make an informed choice of what to believe.
Algorithms are designed to only show you information that you’ve shown you agree with. This is how extremist views develop! And can be dangerous especially considering the state of our society right now
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Why do I have to consume media at all in the first place?
Provided it is fact-checked, yeah. I agree it is important to be able to understand the opposing view at the very least.
Being fed bare-faced lies to counterpoint what you believe to be real isn’t helpful for anyone and is one of the reasons we’re in the position we’re in now.
I’m not wasting my time engaging in brain rot by listening to Andrew Tate etc. I’m an academic so yes I engage with data and conflicting constructed arguments all of time – but that’s never what this line means. It means listen to people with no knowledge or expertise and give them equal weight to people who do have knowledge.
Wise words.
It should be taught in school.
I like how the top comments are all just saying “nah I’m gonna keep myself inside my echo chamber” in various different ways
I do this just to see how a certain topic is covered from both sides and to sorta check myself a bit to make sure I’m not falling into a bit of an echo chamber. It’s funny how both sides would lower the priority of a topic that’s not great for their side. It’s still covered but just not the main story for example. I also consume American media for entertainment. Helps a bit that I’m not American so it’s not as brainwashy to me, but I’ve lately been tuning it off as it’s just depressing more so these days than years past.
The algorithm is designed to give you more of what you engage with or already believe, or to push certain viewpoints. Short of creating entirely separate social media accounts and actively choosing to engage with things you normally wouldn’t, how do you even go about this?
It’s intentionally made difficult to escape your bubble
I’ve once heard from a professor that “you should read more works by philosophers with whom you disagree than by those with whom you agree.”
This isn’t an unpopular opinion most people do this on a daily basis, but is opening a newspaper I will already consume media that I disagree with or that has supporting views
While I agree in principle, every time I actually try it and watch fox news or OANN, I feel like it makes me respect the humanity of the average MAGA voter less.
Do you have a suggestion for a MAGA source that’ll instead do what you suggest watching the media should? (I’ve found some far right sources i like, but it feels like they hate the MAGA movement more than me)
Knowledge is power.
Depends on what exactly they’re talking about.
As long as it’s fact checked. I understand that a very small percentage of people can’t be vaccinated, but that doesn’t mean everyone can stop being vaccinated.
Instead of increasing media consumption, it’s more beneficial to reduce it, to be more selective. Your mental health matters.
This is really up to both what is being discussed and the level of frustration you can handle.
I have little desire to get annoyed with opinions of others I’ll never meet.
And generally speaking most of the views I can think of that I wouldn’t at least talk about with someone are things that I’d never waver on.
I think it’s at least important to engage with people who hold opposing views. Chances are if you spend a lot of time on Reddit or you’re at university you’re only really engaging with pretty socially progressive people. Then as far as politics go it’s an echo chamber.
But I think we can all rest assured knowing that watching Andrew Tate is a total waste of time as anything but a scientific curiosity.
I am leftwing (social democrat / lukewarm socialist) but I do sometimes consume opposing media
That’s what I was taught in school. As part of our homework, we had to read three different newspapers each week, based on the principle that you should understand multiple perspectives. We were trained to debate and were even assigned arguments we didn’t personally agree with, so we had to consume all media.
That’s how we learned to understand others, and how to form our own opinions, even while consuming media we disagreed with. Some people are assuming watching or reading automatically brainwash you. It doesn’t work like that.
Sure, it’s uncomfortable to read something that challenges your beliefs, but it’s necessary.
Then I moved to the U.S. and was surprised by how many people seem to prefer staying in their own echo chambers. Here, that idea engaging with different perspectives is almost an unpopular opinion. Everything feels so black and white. Everyone has a label saying they are either progressive or conservative. Then they automatically agree every topics under that label. That’s so lazy.
i try to. i really do. But then i hear that climate change isnt real and the white race is being genocided. What do you want me to do with this?
Sponsored by ground news
One, this is actually a very popular opinion, secondly, I don’t need to constantly consume things I disagree with in order to treat other people with dignity and respect.
That’s why I’m on Reddit
I don’t think partisan news is particularly helpful at all. I’d prefer news with minimal opinions and bias where possible.
Reading ap news or Reuters is better than reading both fox and the guardian.
I’d say its more important to be actively critical of media that shares your views, than to seek out opposing media.
It’s important to question your own views from time to time, but world contains enough sides you don’t want to listen to. If you start reading certain media it’ll either lead to degradation or to absorbing propaganda. And those media will get views and will be promoted more in social media feeds and recommendations
Please, this is too much for redditors to hear.
You’d have to first demonstrate how extremist views are actually bad. If you have a pile of shit and a chocolate chip cookie, you don’t need to try both to have a balanced view, you can just have the cookie.
Politics are inherently divisive, I can’t believe right after the tail end of over 70 million people getting their Medicare cut to avoid having billionaires pay taxes you think it’s the time for stupid centrism bullshit
It should be quality, though. I’m not gonna start putting Tim Pool or Charlie Kirk on just to “get the other side.”
I already am convict of my views. I don’t want to be convinced otherwise and don’t want to convince other people. I know that I despise all the views that are right winged and that won’t change.
Not unpopular though
You’re right, but you overestimate people’s ability to scrutinize information and their willingness to leave their comfort zone to even want to hear out the opposing view.
I saw fox news on TV for 2 minutes ans they were yelling about “stupid liberals” and then an ad for a book about how to stop your child from being indoctrinated by the left played.
I’m okay really. Don’t need my IQ points to leak from my head
Do, does one need to listen to Screwdriver and read Mein Kampf?
I do consume A LOT of the opposing view. The issue is that my opposing view thrives on lies and misinformation to spread fear and hatred so it’s extremely difficult to convince others to do the same. So I wouldn’t say it’s an unpopular opinion, you can just only consume so much before you just feel exhausted.
Not unpopular, it’s logical to forming a coherent personal opinion. But then you see how the left wing media is acting like the world’s ending, slavery is back, and all that it’s hard to trust them with what little credibility they have left, if anything . If you don’t watch tv or consume any social media influencer information for a while, your life will improve and you will see what’s true or not. Your own eyes, or the lies.
If the only argument that the opposing views to my own have is based on hatred and false data, I can do without. What everyone needs to do is be conscious of biases and data manipulation. You don’t need half-baked arguments to do that.
Sure i should totally watch nazi propaganda
no. you need to consume factual media. hint: pudcasts and tiktok do not contain it
I agree. I was kind of on the fence with some things, and even had doubts about the openness of my mind (which, side unpopular opinion: even if you’re considered close minded, depending on the actions you take when presented with it it’s not necessarily a bad thing, like if you’re not pro lgbtq but also don’t actively attack or berate anyone or try to hear them out about it, even if you still disagree) but after consuming “woke” media and doing some looking around, it did open my mind a bit more and had me realize a few things.
I love how this whole thread is “I’m right and they’re wrong so I don’t need to listen.”
What should k watch then? Racists? Billionaire grindset courses?
Well it’s not like i can stop seeing that shit anyway. Algorythms sadly doesn’t work in the way you think they do
I wish it did, maybe it could show me stuff i actually want to see
Nah, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of actual wisdom in Mein Kampf.
I need to consume the facts. The data. The latest research and methodologies.
Opposite view points are opinions, garbage, and propaganda.
I agree on principle and did this a decade ago, but im not sure where to even find a remotely unbiased or rational source of news that isnt Reuters. (Noting that fox news has to be classified as entertainment rather than news, for legal reasons).
Speaking directly to an ordinary person who holds different views would probably be more useful, but still not necessarily fact-checked per se.
nope.
Reuters
BBC America
Financial Times
This shouldn’t be controversial but it’s starting to seem like most people would consider this controversial
you need to consume media that you can trust to tell you the truth.
This is just a truth in life.
I’d rather consume media that challenges the world as I as see it rather than cementing it. It’s one of the many ways people can grow mentally.
Something everyone should practice to an extent. I get most of my political media from reddit (very left wing) but I absolutely refuse to watch faux news. If I’m curious to know more about a topic I will check unbiased news articles instead and form an opinion based off that.
Every other topic that isn’t political I try to do this. Being informed about both sides of a topic will strengthen yours.
Don’t want to hear Israel’s side of the story sorry.
You absolutely do, but you need to make sure your news source bases those views on objective facts. Real news sources make mistakes. When they do that they should correct the record. If they don’t do that it’s a huge red flag.
They should also clearly differentiate between News and Opinion – and they should print or air opinions from both sides.
I usually get my news from the NY Times. Their Editorial leans left, but their Opinion does not, publishing views from both sides of an issue. They also issue corrections to facts all the time. They get labeled “radical left” by Trump because they print news and facts that he would rather ignore. But facts they are still.
I used to believe this, but during the Trump era, anything coming from the right is a bunch of half-truths, lies, and manipulation tactics dressed in a trench coat to keep their audience afraid.
A perfect example, July 4, 2020, we were hanging out at my in-laws in the pool, when my mother in law says we’ve gotta be careful that night, because Black Lives Matter has said they are going to round up white folks and kill them tonight. My partner has anxiety so this caused them to spiral, and I decided to pressure-test this claim. “Who told you this?” MIL said her friend sent her an article. I asked who made the article, she wasn’t sure. We googled the claim, and lo and behold, the claim originated with the disgraced wino at large, Rudy Giuliani. Even when we could prove that BLM never made such a claim, MIL simply fell back to “well just be careful.” No retraction, no acknowledgment that she was wrong or lied to.
But the others guys are evil and bad and only want to hurt people. Why would I consume their media? (Yes this is sarcasm)
Opposing views to mine would be shit like “gay people go to hell” so no thanks.
Not all viewpoints are created equal.
Not only should you hear both sides, you should be able to fully explain anything you want to refute.
If you want to refute science or history or some social concern, you should strive to be able to explain the science, the history, or hold forth on that concern taking either side.
The US, especially, has become anti expert and ignores experience, and we’ve told the past 3 generations that their opinions and personal preferences are as important as ANYONE else’s. “Everything you think and feel is very important and uniquely you and anyone who judges you is a problem” is now a normal life lesson we teach to our children by our own attitudes.
It’s a big part of what has led up to where we are now.
Most media opposes my views because the bias is evident. Don’t care if it’s Fox, CNN, social media platforms that swing way far in a particular direction. I look for the truth, and holy shit does that require work.
I agree. Confirmation bias is powerful. In order to strengthen your beliefs you should always challenge them instead of reinforcing what you already know.
As far as the fact checking that a few people mentioned here, that should ALWAYS be a must regardless of what information you consume because there’s a lot of misinformation in each and every field of knowledge on the internet these days.
Sure. But it needs to be as well researched and coherently put together. The fact that centre and left leaning media have better research here matters. You fact check them and it is spin on truth, not outright lies. A lot of right wing media is outright false narrative. Particularly the further right you go. So, I’ll read centre right for the spin on fact rather than far right outright lies. This matters