We only believe what we only think. This concept is also known as confirmation bias which is the tendency that people will only listen to facts and information that agree with their existing beliefs. This is implicated in everyday life whenever we look at the news or agree to what our friends and family are saying and we don’t even know that we’re doing it. There are some good things about confirmation bias which is that it boosts self confidence because it strengthens our own opinions and builds self-esteem. It also reduces mental conflict which is also called cognitive dissonance. This reduces psychological stress and lowers the risk of negative emotions because we don’t want to feel wrong. However, there are some downsides. This makes us make poor decisions and leads to false information. This includes very opinionated articles instead of backing up with facts and evidence which leads to conspiracy theories and extremist ideas. Another thing is marketers love confirmation bias. Marketers target the audience's beliefs around products and services and then supply the evidence that confirms those beliefs. This can be helpful to companies to sell their products but also horrifying to consumers due to the fact that these companies know what our interests are and can abuse our privacy.
As a whole, this affects society because people try to pick out information that confirms their beliefs. No one likes to be proven wrong. Your confirmation bias is shaped by how you grow up, what your family and friends believe, and your personal values. According to Pew Research, the overall share of Americans who express consistently conservative or consistently liberal opinions has doubled over the past two decades from 10% to 21%. Today, we are facing major political polarization. For example, Fox is seen as a conservative news source while CNN is seen as a more liberal news source. Today, a lot of the mainstream news channels are not spitting out facts, but also political beliefs as well. This is due to media consolidation in which small media companies are being taken over by large multinational media companies. This is hurting independent journalists and prevents us from finding other perspectives.
Confirmation bias affects everyone. However, when it comes to old and young generations, there are different sources each generation is getting their information from. For young generations, it is usually social media platforms while older generations tend to use news channels as their source of information. They are exposed to different forms of information, however, anyone can be affected by confirmation bias. For example, younger generations use TikTok that has a “For You” page that if we like a certain piece of content, we will keep getting the same content over and over again which confirms our beliefs. For older generations, someone can always rely on CNN for their news but not look into other sources. It is important to not fall into confirmation bias and to always seek contrary opinions. Instead of searching “Why is gun control so bad” instead, search “What are the pros and cons of gun control?”
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