Story vs. Narrative. Critical Thinking vs. Manipulation and Fanaticism
Would you say story and narrative are synonyms? Check the links for Merriam-Webster's definitions, from where one might say they could be, at least partially.
Then why when we are being fed some BS, it's not a story, but a narrative?
Is it an attempt to keep people from thinking about this potential meaning of story?
But to me the term narrative started to be loaded with more connotations, that make me cringe every time I hear the word.
It's not just a BS made pretty, most times, it goes further than that into the manipulation territory. The official narrative, mainstream narrative, the company's narrative... A narrative has often become a story with some elements of truth to make it credible, followed by a call to action or in more subtle cases, by a powerful suggestion to an already conditioned audience.
With such manipulatory narratives fed to the masses over long periods of time, critical thinking will become a rarity that gets replaced by either people who are afraid to have or state any opinions of their own, or by fanatics. Very little middle ground...
Luckily, alternative sources of mass information came out before most people lost their ability to think critically. That doesn't make all (or even many) alternative sources of information any better. Many just have their own narratives to propagate.
So, what can we do to protect ourselves? Take care and use your critical thinking as often as you can. Don't let it atrophy by not using it! Don't let others (like the government) do the thinking for you. That's why you have a brain, use it. Of course, there are some things you probably shouldn't do, like being your own doctor. But even doctors make mistakes, so you can use critical thinking to ask for another opinion if something doesn't seem right.
What else can we do? Turn off any channels (media or of a different nature) that you discover are feeding BS and manipulative narratives. I am less categorical here because I probably have my own biases. I do avoid such channels (sources) but sometimes I intentionally check them to see a different perspective, fanatical or not.
How about you? In a world full of manipulative narratives, how do you protect yourself?
Want to check out my collection of posts? (work in progress!)
It's a good way to pick what interests you.
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I just don't care about other's or their narrative about me.
Unfortunately, we don't live in a bubble. Sometimes it would be easier, lol.
May be, may be not 🚫
Sadly there is a deficit in critical thinking these days. I think the best weapon against propaganda is to not react or give it your attention.
I'd say this is the best choice. But for that, we need to use our minds and see it's propaganda. And sometimes propaganda is so well crafted that it can foul even intelligent people.
Great topic to discuss. I also agree.
Thanks.
It’s not too difficult to spot. When all the MSM agree to something and politicians repeat the same phrase, you automatically know something is up. 😅
Yep, that's the most obvious case, when they stop playing any games between them and all agree on something.
very clearly covered post. thank you for sharing.
Thanks.
https://twitter.com/LovingGirlHive/status/1712921960609677684
Thanks.
https://twitter.com/jewellery_all/status/1712931686672183655
Thanks.
This is very informative
Thank you for sharing
I take everything with a grain of salt. Especially if it's from sources that I don't trust. I still think there tends to be some truth to the stuff but I tend to trust things more if they are are more truthful. Other than that, I can't really say much besides that. As always if there are accusations, I tend to wait for the other side as well because we all know how they can manipulate stories.
That can be quite challenging at times, discerning what is truthful and what is a lie.
That's a good way to approach things. Nowadays, pockets of society often get inflamed after seeing only one narrative or side of the story.
As much as we want to say that we don't care what people say, it's not. Sometimes our heart also becomes very sad.
Unfortunately almost all information are edited or manipulated in some way. It can be due to the perspective of the writer, or limited information on the topic. The worst ones are those maliciously altered for some sort of gain/favor/narrative. It would be nice if people are able to choose their sources, but if everything is manipulated by the government, then it is difficult for them to know which is the right info.
I tend to agree with what you said. There are two ways the information gets distorted: by the subjective perspective and sources used by the reporter, or by the malicious intent to manipulate.
The problem is that people don't like to think... or don't want to think, which is even worse... That's why on posts like this, comments are: "Thanks for sharing", "Informative", etc...
Luckily, humanity didn't go forward "thanks" to those people, but thanks to those in the minority, who made an effort to make a change...
Unfortunately, minimum effort is something many people are used to and consider normal. I don't think it's below average anymore, but rather average, and the average started to get lower and lower over time.
https://twitter.com/lee19389/status/1713183746856497173
#hive #posh
This is a really good post @gadrian. The words story and narrative seem to mean the same thing. However, I not thought of a story being true all of the time. I never thought of them these 2 words meaning the same thing. I find the English language very difficult even though it's my only language and my native language. I get confused with English words and I forget words meanings, need to look up words often to see what they mean. There are many words that mean the same thing in the English Language or almost the same thing. It's hard to define the difference at times. Do you think story and narrative mean the same thing? I am still unsure. Thank you. Barb 😄 ⭐ 👍
No, I don't. And they certainly are used in different ways, especially in modern times. I doubt "narrative" meant in English the same thing a few hundred years ago as it does today. I often understand narrative these days as a manipulative story, which may be based on real facts (at least partially) or fiction.
Oh OK @gadrian I understand now, because you said a narrative is a "manipulative story, which may be based on real facts (at least partially) or fiction." This makes perfect sense now.
Thank you! 🌟👍