My initial thought was to read over my On the Media posts and analyze it for any biased material. While skipping over it briefly, I couldn't find anything. Even though I knew the goal and challenge for the assignment, my brain analyzed it the way it wanted to. So, I took it out of context and pasted it into a Word document, wrote John Doe at the top as the name, and read it again. For some odd reason, this allowed me to get a more accurate reading of the post. By doing so, this lead me to a few conclusions.
A constant factor between all of them is the underlying message from where I gathered my commentary. I attempted to write objectively and as close to the middle of the line as possible. In a way, I was able to do so. I steered away from sounding too conservative or too liberal but the real issue I took with was the media and its use of power. As I continued to analyze the posts, my intent was to highlight the abuse of mass communication by the media. Whether it was in favor of the right or the left, it didn't matter. There are too many agendas and ulterior motives by the contributors of broadcasting firms.
The consequence of this bias towards the media is every bit of information put out there is already a lie until proven true. Unfortunately, it isn't the other way around. With the amount of lies entangled with the truth, it is difficult to sort it all out. My voice became more clear once I recognized the intent I embedded into the postings.
Biases hinder critical thinking. The moment you start to lean a certain way on an issue is the same moment you become less of a critical thinker. My reasoning behind the statement is the idea of change. Categorizing yourself forces you into a box and a specific way of thinking. For example, classifying yourself as a liberal or a conservative involuntarily makes you more susceptible to groupthink. No matter what type of bias it is, it will do more harm than good. Being able to identify my current bias (not agreeing with the lack of evidence produced by the media) will help open up my mindset and allow me to not immediately dismiss all information.
I really liked what you said in your last paragraph and I totally agree! I've always thought that as soon as I was labeled something, I wanted to fit that role, whatever it might be (all positive usually). I was told I was a good student, and therefore I became a good student. I was told I was a helpful daughter, and therefore I became a helpful daughter. But there are negative effects to that as you brought out with the liberal and conservative siding. Once you believe you are suppose to think one way, you become that way. You forget reasoning and stick with what you want to believe because it fits your label.
ReplyDeleteReally great post!