What You Read is an Ethical Choice

Your information diet is an ethical choice of yours, so when you’re on the Huffington Post looking at say the Kardashians and you click on the Kardashians, understand that you are not only reading that article, but you’re also voting for that article.  

You’re telling an editor to produce more content like that at the expense of the stuff that you didn’t click on. So we have this sort of rapidization of the tyranny of the majority, if you will, because we are constantly being given what it is that we want, not necessarily what it is that we need. I think i’s vital to understand that there is a difference between those two things.

In the world of food if we were only given what we want what would we look like? About 35% of Americans are obese and I think that same thing is going on with information.  If we’re only given what it is that we want then we’re going to have a polarized nation.  

If you find yourself nodding your head too much maybe it’s time to change the channel.  Maybe it’s time to look at something else and maybe it’s time to go a little bit more local. What I’m not suggesting to you is that if you’re a conservative that you watch a little MSNBC instead of a little bit of Fox.  What I’m suggesting to you is neither Fox News nor MSNBC matter much in your life and maybe it’s time for you to focus a little bit more on your local community.  

In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think’s studio. 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.