Your Feed Is Brainwashing You
Back when I was living in Miami, I used to follow an Instagram page that posted “crazy” news from the city.
Every day it was something outrageous.
Homeless people breaking into Burger King.
Drunk guys dancing on top of cars and smashing windshields.
Fires breaking out in random restaurants.
It was pure chaos.
Eventually, it got to a point where I started questioning my decision to move to Miami in the first place.
I found myself actively looking for things that were wrong with the city even if my experience was the complete opposite.
Nothing about the city had objectively changed. What changed was what I was feeding my mind.
By repeatedly consuming this negative narrative, I primed myself to search for proof that it was true.
I’ve noticed the same dynamic here in Colombia.
People who only consume content focused on crime and negative events end up experiencing the country through those exact lens.
My experience here has been very different.
Not because bad things never happen, but because I’m not outsourcing my perception of reality to an external source.
And this doesn’t just apply to cities or countries.
The content you consume influences:
- What you notice
- What you ignore
- What you believe is “normal”
- How safe or unsafe a place feels
At some point, you have to stop letting other people tell you what life is like.
Go outside.
Pay attention.
Experience things for yourself.
Your own lived experience is a far more reliable source than an algorithm designed to keep you scrolling.
- Johnny