Becoming more consciously inclusive is a deliberate act. We need deliberate acts by individuals and organisations to grow their collective mindsets and improve opportunities for all. So we come to the first “individual” idea for growing your inclusive mindset in #22WaysToBeConsciouslyInclusiveIn2022 – extending your horizons and taking on new perspectives. Doing this can help to build empathy, and a curiosity for understanding others.
Step 1: the audit – for 2 weeks, make a note of the things you read, watch and listen to. Be aware of who and what you like, follow, share or retweet. How similar are they to each other? How similar are they to you?
Remember that social media algorithms are set up to show you more of what you look at. Hence, one funny dog video becomes 20. And that thing you clicked on accidentally in your stream suddenly appears in every other post. The downside is that it is very easy for all of us (me included), to find ourselves increasingly in a bubble. Affinity bias plays a role here too, as we will connect most automatically with people we have something in common with.
Step 2: Try something new. Find a different author. There have been more recent attempts to produce TV from different perspectives and communities (personal favourites from last year “Noughts and Crosses” and “We Are Lady Parts”). Get your news from a different source (even one you would usually avoid). You may not agree with their view, but it’s useful to know different views exist. Deliberately follow people from different generations and backgrounds on social media. It might feel forced at first, but once you start, those algorithms will help add some balance to your feed. You might decide after a couple of weeks to unfollow your new channels, but that’s ok. (Probably don’t read all of the comment threads on social media)
Recent Comments