Have you ever been misinformed about something and then passed that information on to someone else? Well, that’s what happens everyday. People are given wrong information and that spreads around, causing rumors. Many people, when told something, don’t look into it or think to see if it’s true, which is called using skepticism. Let me show you some examples of being skeptical.
“Have an open mind, but not so open our brains fall out.” When Walter Kotsching said this quote, he meant to be doubtful of your surroundings or what people say. Let me give you two examples of being skeptical. Let’s say someone told you that your best friend moved from your hometown to Utah. You weren’t being skeptical and immediately believed it. That affected your daily life, as you were always believing everything you hear. Now imagine that same situation, but you were doubtful of the claim. Not easily fooled, you went over to your friend's house only to see her getting ready for soccer practice. There, you used skepticism and found out the truth.
Social media may be a time-passer, but there is an unknown truth lurking beneath the surface. By that, I mean that it may have many untrue things and products may only be advised for money on the popular app. For example, Ana’s favorite influencer advertises an automatic litter box. Being a cat owner, she immediately buys it. Both the ad and the litter box. When it arrives the next day, she finds out that you actually need to take the litter out of the box, but she thought it was automatic. If Ana had dug deeper for information, she would have known this flaw.
From the novel Refugee, a Syrian boy named Mahmoud is in the midst of a war. He and his family go on a journey to find freedom in the European Union. Only, they have to take a boat ride to get there. His father has been texting a smuggler to help them escape, but the smuggler keeps telling them the boat will come the next day. Finally, it comes one day, but it is more of an inflatable raft that has to carry multiple people. Because of the choppy waves and weight, the raft crashed, leaving Mahmoud, his mother, and sister separated from his father and brother. If Mahmoud’s father had asked the smuggler for more information, they could have found another boat and actually made it to their destination.
As you read above, you can see that all the people in the examples weren’t questioning what was told to them. You have to be doubtful in your everyday life. Whether it’s a claim that the soccer team won the game or if you should buy a product that was advertised by a pop artist, skepticism is always a good practice.
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