It's your responsibility not your fault, social media & echo chambers, and System 1 vs System 2 Thinking

It's your responsibility, not your fault

When you think of the world responsibility you may also think about words like fault, blame, and accountability, but not all these words mean the same thing even though they are widely used interchangeably.

We are all responsible for our actions, that is to say that we have control over our actions each and every day. But, we can't control other people's actions. That is where fault and blame come in. There are so many occasions where things are not your fault but they are now your responsibility. Mark Manson describes this by saying "Fault is past tense. Responsibility is present tense. Fault results from choices that have already been made. Responsibility results from the choices you're currently making, every second of the day".

By using this definition we can say that it's not your fault that your boss dropped a load of work on you last minute, but it is your responsibility to do the best you can to complete the work in the time remaining, then talk to them about how that can be avoided in the future. You can think of it like a game of poker. In each hand every player looks at the cards they have been dealt and continues to make decisions about what actions to take based on those cards. They aren't at fault for the cards they have been dealt but they are responsible for the actions they take for the remainder of the hand. The best poker players are able to win poker hands (and tournaments) time and time again, even when they are dealt "bad" cards. It is their actions that dictate their success, not the cards they are dealt.

If you take on responsibility in your life, that is to say "I understand that the situation I am in now may not be my fault, but I can change it, I am in control of my actions now and in the future" there is a sense of freedom that comes with it. For if you are in control and you take responsibility, you are accepting that you can change your actions, your mood, your behaviour to work your way out of any situation.

Social Media & Echo Chambers

In a world of social media algorithms it is incredibly important to notice when you are falling into an echo chamber. Social media platforms are designed to keep you engage in posts, making you stay on the platform longer in each visit. In order to do this the app will bring posts to your feed that it thinks you'll be interested in based on what you've looked at in the past, how long you spent looking at it, and whether you actively engaged with it (likes, comments, shares). Have you ever noticed that if you spend a little longer on a TikTok video, for the next week all you seem to be shown is similar videos. This can be beneficial, for example if you are planning a trip to Portugal and you search for places to eat on TikTok, your "For You" feed is then filled with videos of people in Portugal, opening your awareness to all the food and activities waiting for you on your trip. Where this isn't so helpful is when it creates (or intensifies) polarisation in society.

The reasons for following someone on social media vary from knowing them in real-life social circles (friends & family), being entertained by them (comedians), or thinking what they are saying/posting is interesting or matches your values/opinions (influencers etc.). What is dangerous here is that in real life you will often encounter people with differing viewpoints. If you go into a pub and start speaking to people the likelihood is not everyone is going to have exactly the same opinion about each topic. Whereas, on a social media the platforms are incentivised to keep feeding you content that matches your opinions to keep you engaged; you don't get to see other viewpoints. As more time is spent on social media than in face to face socialisation, we are exposed less and less to alternative perspectives. With limited exposure to other thoughts and opinions we, naturally, begin to believe our existing views due to confirmation bias. Over time this means that two people who had slightly different opinions may end up at opposite ends of the same scale in terms of their views on a topic.

Essentially our opinions and views are becoming extremely polarised without consistent, regular challenges from different perspectives. By the time an alternative view comes around, you believe so strongly that you are right, you dismiss the other person as stupid.

System 1 vs System 2 thinking

I've recently started reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow and one of the first topics is about System 1 and System 2 thinking. System 1 thinking is fast and automatic, with little or no effort. Whereas, System 2 allocates attention is associated to the experiences of agency, choice, and concentration.

When thinking about ourselves we will think of System 2, the part of us that makes choices based on reason, deciding in each moment what to think about and do but in truth most of our life is run by System 1 even if System 2 is used to explain what we have done. It is common for us to do something in the moment, then think about why we did it, rather than thinking about doing something, then doing it. This is System 1 at play initially, the System 2 engaged to create the story, the why.

As it is effortless, System 1 is operating all the time. Have you ever walked past someone and had an immediate negative emotion or thought? This was System 1. We can, after the fact, try to understand why we felt that way but by doing this you are engaging System 2 which can reason and try to work out what was at play to cause that emotion but it might not be 100% correct. System 1 works based on our previous experiences and familiar situations but it is also biased, making incorrect judgement calls in the moment that you may be left needing to explain.

Another way of looking at the systems is in a skill or activity. When you first try something (say rock climbing) you will be using System 2 a lot more than a professional would, this is because you don't have the previous experience and knowledge to not actively think about each step, each movement. As you become more skilled, fewer regions of the brain are involved, System 1 is more active and your attention can be used elsewhere.