Selective Exposure

To be honest, I find it very hard to read True Enough.  I get pretty bored while reading the book and often find myself reading for a long time only to suddenly realize that I haven't absorbed anything that I've read.  I don't really enjoy reading about politics which makes reading True Enough difficult, but I did come across a concept that I found very interesting.  

In the second chapter of the book, Manjoo talks about a study conducted to learn more about selective exposure.  Although I had never really thought about it before, I think that it really makes sense and is very accurate.  People (generally) don't like to hear about things that contradict their beliefs.  I thought the example of the study in which people chose to listen to static rather than someone on the radio talking about something they don't believe in was really interesting. Also, I was interested by the story about the cult who thought that the apocalypse was coming but then when it didn’t come the leader claimed that God told her that he decided to spare the planet. 

On page 30 Manjoo says “But changing your beliefs isn’t easy, and it isn’t fun.”  I think that this is a very accurate statement because most people don’t like criticism and can’t stand being told that what they think is wrong.  I consider myself to be a flexible person, but when it comes to the opinions that I strongly believe in, I don’t think that even a very persuasive person with a strong argument could sway me to change my beliefs.  And when it comes to someone who I don’t find credible or whose opinions I don’t want to believe in, I really don’t want to hear their argument.