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Cognitive Dissonance: Why We Trade Critical Thought for Comfort

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@jorgebscomm for @empowervmedia [Image credit: flickr ] Y our friend cares about the environment, but they also booked a flight last month. They value independent thinking, yet their social media feed shows they almost exclusively follow people who already agree with them. They believe in fairness, however their shopping habits probably don't reflect that. None of this makes them a bad person. It makes them human, and it makes them a textbook case of one of the most robust findings in all of social psychology: cognitive dissonance . Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling that arises when two things we believe — or a belief and a behaviour — contradict each other. Psychologist Leon Festinger (1957) , who first mapped the concept, showed that this discomfort is not just a passing awkwardness. It is a genuine motivational force. It pushes us to act. The catch is that "acting" almost never means changing our behaviour. It means changing our thinking — fin...

Inside the Web of Hate: How Misogynistic Ideologies Thrive in Online Spaces

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Produced by @epowervmedia * FACT-CHECKED by @jorgebscomm ✅  Online platforms have become fertile ground for the spread of violent and misogynistic ideologies.   (📷:leonel-houssam) The internet’s promise of open discourse has been undermined by the proliferation of anti‑women spaces, where misogynistic and violent rhetoric thrives. From large social networks like X-Twitter and Facebook to niche forums (e.g., “incel” communities), users share dehumanising narratives that normalise aggression toward women and marginalised genders . These platforms often lack robust moderation, allowing hate speech to flourish unchecked . Studies reveal that sexist harassment is now one of the most pervasive forms of online abuse on Web 2.0, outpacing even racial or religious hate speech . This digital hate often spills into real‑world violence, as seen in assaults influenced by extremist misogynistic groups . 'Meet an Incel' ▶️58s Ideological Underpinnings ‘Involuntary celibates’ or “incels...