Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Social Me Blog 3

It is difficult not to care what people think about us because what they think of us influences what we think of ourselves. Though people may say that they do not care what others think of them, the truth is they do, they just don’t respond to what the others are saying. If you get told something enough times and by enough people, regardless if it is true or not, eventually you will begin to believe it yourself. Thus, people who are always told how great they are, will begin to believe it and will consider themselves to be great and possibly better than others. Whereas those who are told bad things about themselves, might begin to believe it too and think of themselves in a negative light, or not as good as others. This can lead to problems between people or lead to mental problems with people. Another problem is that sometimes friends will be joking and one will not understand that it is friendly banter and will take it seriously. That is why people need to know when others are joking, or when they are being serious with what they are saying. Our desire to have others approve of us is also a reason as to why we listen to what others say. We hear what they say in a hope that we could improve upon ourselves and eventually get approval from our peers. Sometimes listening to your peers can help you. You can start doing things better, whether it’s a social change or a change related to school or work. However, there are limits. Caring too much about something said about you can lead you to do something that is wrong, or makes you a worse person. Worse yet, someone could get so caught up in what others think of him or her that they become a slave to those people. Doing whatever they are told to try and get peer approval.
Whether we admit to it or not, we do listen to what others say, even it is cruel, what the others are saying is often based off of how they view you. If you are constantly interrupting or making really stupid comments, people will think of you that way and will try to avoid you. If you are quiet and removed then your peers will think of you as an isolated person. Many people may complain about what people think of them, but a lot of the time they should look at how they act first and if they see the other person’s thoughts are well based, then they should change their behavior. People also see how others view them, and if they don’t like what others think of them and care enough about the other person’s opinions, then they adjust their behavior, which clearly shows how others opinions can affect you, positively or negatively

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