September Blog Post: Critical Thinking.

     Nowadays it’s difficult to have a conversation with someone while they have a cell phone or tablet in their hands. Many times during a conversation my friends will look up and respond “That’s crazy.” Usually when that response is given I know they hear me but they aren’t exactly listening to me. I do it myself, especially when I’m watching a television show. I’ll have my phone in my hands, scrolling through Instagram and the TV becomes background noise. Before I know it, I have to rewind twenty minutes back to catch what I missed.
     I tend to watch series based on families and friends who support each other through hardships and celebrate the milestones. I enjoy going through the emotional rollercoasters with the characters because in one way or another I am connecting with them. Even though I know they are actors, the scenes of triumph and unity give me a happy feeling. Television series with dry humor, ranging from South Park to The office have never been appealing to me. They bother me mostly because of the messages of disrespect and awkwardness they display. My friends and I have gone back and forth on why I think these cartoons and series are pointless and, quite frankly, just dumb.
     In Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction, the authors talks about something very similar and conclude that “Being a critical thinker—someone who is cautious and discerning about how I engage the communication I encounter—allows me, I believe, to live a better life.” The author asked students to be critical readers of the television shows they watch and to listen for the underlying message being told. Mostly everyone wanted to know why they couldn’t mindlessly enjoy the show without dissecting the words. It’s true, we don’t always want to critically think about what is being said but if we are more cautious about what we listen to and engage with then we may choose to filter out the negative factors.
     In the link I have attached, there is a short clip to an episode of South Park. In my first attempt to find a clip, I came across a scene where one of the students is distracted by thoughts of being called a “faggot” if he is beat up by a girl. In order for him to avoid that he feels it is necessary to poop on the teacher’s desk, all the while there is foul language all throughout the scene. If this is the type of communication we engage with we will think it is appropriate to speak foully and continue to laugh at the disrespect given. Being cautious of the communication we encounter whether it is health, home, or work related can lead us to make better choices of how we live our lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe78oFKGwNs