We read, then we feel

As I was scrolling through social media, I came across a post on a controversial topic (as we often see these kinds of posts every day), and after reading some of my friends’ opinions, I went on to read the rest of the comments. Many of the comments were mean, showing that people are often quick to get into arguments at the slightest provocation.

This got me thinking about how I tend to do this a lot (check the comments on controversial posts), and most of the time, it leaves me with a bitter taste and a negative feeling that sometimes lingers for the rest of the day.

Then I asked myself: Why do I do this to myself? A question that also got me thinking about the significance of what we read, what we consume, and how it can affect… and connect us.

You are what you read

The current virus situation and life under lockdown have highlighted the impact of bad news and gossip on my family, especially my mom. The information we choose to consume and believe can make us feel calm, anxious, and everything in between. This comes with a certain amount of personal responsibility.

When my mom received one of those sensationalist chain messages on WhatsApp, she started to wonder if we were cleaning our groceries properly. When she watched the news, she worried about whether we needed to buy new face masks, and so on. That put the whole house in the same frame of mind, making us anxious and sometimes angry with each other.

I’ve been thinking about the time I spend on social media—which, by the way, according to The New York , has increased since the lockdown began—and the information I receive and choose to share with my friends and family on WhatsApp, and how we should be more aware of the impact all of this has on our emotions. Not only within small groups like my family, but on a larger scale and across different social strata.

Yes, we have a personal responsibility for what we choose to read and consume, but we also have a responsibility for what we choose to share and what we choose to comment on. We’ve been told that information is power, but what kind of information and how much of it should we consume? What role does it play in helping us get through difficult times?

“When you’re online, try to seek out wisdom and knowledge, not just information.”

-Pepe Villatoro, CEO of Fuckup Inc.

It goes beyond reading as an activity and encompasses the visual content we are exposed to (or bombarded with) every day across all media channels. This is a problem that even the WHO itself has recently recognized as an“infodemic.”

We live what we read

According to the Open Education Database, reading about experiences is almost the same as living them; the same neurological regions are activated, blurring the lines between these two ways of learning.

This amazing process happens every time we read a novel, a blog post, an interview, gossip, etc. Your mind connects with what you’re reading to “help” you believe you’re experiencing it too.

According to that same article by the OEDB, spoken word can stimulate our brains. When we hear a story, not only are the parts of our brain responsible for language processing activated, but the parts associated with experience are also engaged. This also happens with everything we hear throughout the day. Researcher Jeremy Hsu states, “Personal stories and gossip make up 65% of our conversations,” and this also helps our brains stay active.

Have nice conversations with your family and friends, or even share a little gossip. Remember to surround yourself with optimistic yet realistic information, so you aren’t significantly affected by traumatic experiences that you (actually didn’t) go through.

Developing empathy

Deep reading (of novels and books) makes us more empathetic. We tend to enjoy deep reading that allows us to feel what the characters in a story feel. And this, in turn, makes us more empathetic toward people in real life, helping us become more aware and mindful of others’ lives and fostering human connections through words.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that we feel a connection to characters in books and to the real people featured in compelling stories and news reports.

This is what makes us human: the power to empathize with one another through information and storytelling. We’ve always known how powerful this tool is and have been developing it ever since we painted bison on stone walls.

Personally, once I realized this, I understood how important it is—and what a responsibility it is—to choose carefully what we read and watch. If storytelling is so powerful when it comes to fostering empathy, what effect do hateful comments and content have?

Let’s be mindful of how certain information makes us feel, and how much influence we allow a book, article, video, or social media comment section to have over us. Let’s rethink the habits we’ve developed for consuming information—which ones are making you feel bad?

‍

If you want to create an environment of psychological safety that boosts productivity and innovation within your organization, please fill out this form.