Don’t Believe Everything You Read the First Time

The Two-Step Flow Theory:

If you don’t know what the two-step flow theory is, a brief explanation is that most people are influenced by thought leaders who are influenced by mass media like television.

What does it look like in my practice (from my personal life)?

Throughout the past two years, my news-gathering routine has been more intense than ever before. With that said, I’m not awake past midnight researching the world news, but I do like to keep up with society. I predominantly choose to get my news from social media accounts that I trust. I also refrain from trusting anything I read from celebrities or influencers at face value. Basically, my process is to get my news from social media pages on Instagram or TikTok and then do quick research to try and get a fuller picture of what is going on. An account I do like to catch up on on Instagram is @shityoushouldcareabout. One platform I stay off of for news is Facebook because from my experience it is filled with loads of misinformation in a media tunnel way.

How do I share the news?

In person, I share the news with my family and we discuss- we actually sometimes have family debates. I appreciate the value my family places on seeking out the truth. Online I repost what I think is important and sometimes I share my personal thoughts. At the beginning of 2020 I was constantly posting and the more news I consumed the unhappier I felt. I was overwhelmed with so much negativity and it truly impacted my mental health. As time has progressed I have taken a step back from absorbing too much media and just let it find me instead of pursuing it all day long.