With the rapid growth of online connections, it has become increasingly prevalent that many products are considered toxic and disease-inducing. For instance, non-wired headphones are bad for the ears. Candles release harmful chemicals. The products we put on our face to prevent sun exposure are considerably worse than being in the sun. Awareness of harmful additives in products can be helpful, but it can also cause rumination. With that, do we discard all of the “toxic” products we are surrounded by, or do we continue to let fearsome thoughts linger?
Negativity Bias
Social media is known for being untrustworthy. With AI-generated content, it becomes harder to distinguish authentic content every day. In general, negative information attracts the public eye more than positive news. Negativity bias is real, and we see this bias in the media constantly. The horror genre is an excellent example of negativity bias. For those who enjoy frightening movies, you may be prone to negativity bias. Psychologically, we tend to pay more attention to danger. Another instance of this would be a plane crash. We don’t pay attention to the thousands of flights that land safely every day, but when a singular crash is documented, it becomes a headline and instills long-lasting fear. Like animal attacks, sharks and bears rarely kill humans, yet our perceived fear of these events is considerable. Thus, events related to tragedy are sensationalized and highlighted in public media.
Compulsive Tendencies
When we associate a product with being toxic or an event with being tragic, our behavior changes. It may be easy to brush off one video that highlights harmful effects, but continued interaction with negative content may generate a trend in your feed. In my life, negative content lingers in my mind. Yet, instead of changing my behavior, I continue letting my perceived fears take hold of me. This raises the question of whether negative content is meant to inspire change or imbue us with feelings of worry.
A Real-life Example
It may be true that certain products are harmful to our health, but our response is what matters. Questioning authority is important. No one can predict what may happen, but you can prepare for it, and this is where fear originates. We can do our best to stay healthy, but how we achieve this can vary among individuals. This brings me back to Elizabeth Sullivan, a 104-year-old woman who shared with CNN that her secret to longevity was drinking Dr. Pepper. Sullivan went so far as to say that she outlived her doctors who advised against her soda consumption. Sullivan is an example of someone who knew a product was harmful to her health, yet she continued to drink soda and lived past 100. While I am not saying soda is the key to living a long life, Sullivan is a great example of someone who challenged authority.
Sources:
Jones, M. (2023, December 25). The Clean Cut: 3 Dr Peppers a day keep the doctor away for 104-year-old woman. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2016/5/31/20589514/the-clean-cut-3-dr-peppers-a-day-keep-the-doctor-away-for-104-year-old-woman/