Let Us Careful About the Information we Consume (Especially Via Mainstream & Social Media)

First things first, you are probably wondering if you are reading the correct blog about money, or wondering how the topics link together. Well, they do, in my view at least. I am in my mid-30s and in the recent few years I have learned either one of the following lessons or all:

• In my personal view, some things that I thought were good for me, were actually designed in a way to delay my mental development from grasping key lessons that would help improve my life skills. Therefore, in this regard I have so much unlearning to do.
• Some things that I thought were important at the young age, I realise now that actually contribute to my life minimally, if at all to the life skills I need to survive and grow today. Therefore, in this regard, I am learning new life skills.
• To make it at the university of life, we all have to be willing to both learn (things that improve our life skills) an unlearn (the things that hinder our natural progression). This is nothing to be ashamed of.

Back to being careful about what information we consume, my own religion speaks about ‘as the man thinketh, so is he’ and some philosophers speak of how our lives are a product of our thoughts. Both these statements, basically are a reminder that we need to guard our minds and thoughts. This is the important part of our bodies were key decisions are being made and our dreams are manufactured. E.g., growing up, especially in the black or any disadvantaged community, money conversations were (and still believe are) a taboo. If you are brave enough to ask about money in the family, the most likely answer you will get is ‘wait until you can start making your own, and you can do whatever you like with it’. This does not in anyway teach you money principles. This type of answer is both secretive and dismissive to the one that is asking the question. Sometimes, parents forget that when children ask a question, it presents them with an opportunity to answer as honest as possible and dispel miscommunication they might have heard from unreliable sources out there.

One big factor to the consumption of information is screentime (watching tv, using phones to fool around on social media or consume content that is there). And let us be honest, the life that sells on social media is more of less clothing on the body, alcohol and hubbly bubbly, night outs, etc.. While nothing is wrong with some of these things when consumed responsible by adults, we cannot deny that there are kids as young as 13 years old that get ‘influenced’ and start wanting to mimic the same lifestyle. Imagine if these platforms had more and more of educational programs for kids of all ages up to 18 or even 21. A show that showcases starting businesses for a month, and not only show them buying and selling of stock, but also the bookkeeping thereof and even savings and investments.

Imagine if social media companies ran age-appropriate content inviting youngers to participate in and create campaigns that showcase their journey to financial literacy. Would such a work not be a better plan for our country at large? I think it would work. One thing that I think the younger generation is neglecting, is reading for leisure. If I’m to paraphrase, I read somewhere that reading takes you to a world that you are able to go to via imagination. It expands your imagination and gives you hope to dream of your life outside of your current circumstances. Do not be shy to own multiple books on the same topic, like I have close to 10 or more books on personal finance. The reason for that is authors write in different styles there is always something to learn from reading multiple books. Those are some of the examples we should strive to condone.