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When an adult sees a group of young people trying to imitate the fashion style of a singer or a movie or sports star, he may subconsciously think that they are highly impressionable and that he is not. However, the reality is that consciously or subconsciously, to some extent we are all susceptible to being influenced by our environment. This includes the media you consume.

We are so strongly influenced by outside stimuli that prominent companies have taken advantage of this and have designed multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns to saturate consumers’ minds with their product branding.

What does science say?

Multiple scientific studies have been conducted on this topic. One of these experiments had particularly interesting results. Researchers John A. Bargh, Mark Chen, and Lara Burrows asked a group of 18- to 20-year-old students from New York University to form sentences using cards with different words written on them.

One group of students was given random words and the other was given words commonly associated with old age (Florida, forget, bald, gray hair, and wrinkles). After they finished the task, they were asked to walk to an office at the end of the hall. Without the participants’ knowledge, the researchers measured how long it took the volunteers to get to the office. The results were surprising.

The young students who had received cards with words related to old age walked much more slowly than their classmates in the other group, as if they had internalized those words and subconsciously incorporated them into their immediate actions. These results were published in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology” in August 1996.

How are you feeding your mind?

Diego Barahona A.

Can we control or at least minimize how much we are affected by external influences? Experts say yes. An effective way is to be selective in choosing what we allow to enter our minds.

The type of radio stations you listen to, the kind of television shows you watch, and the type of newspapers or websites you read can have a powerful influence on your life.

If the media outlets that you are most exposed to mainly give you exaggerated reports, inconsequential information, or news based on rumors, your brain will absorb some of those messages.

On the other hand, if you choose professional media outlets that offer you relevant, positive, and useful information, your mind will be strengthened.

Believe it or not, the same can apply to your circle of friends. There are friends who bring out the best in us and others who do not. Various psychological studies have proven that the type of friends a person surrounds himself with can have a huge influence on his habits. Entrepreneur, author, and speaker Jim Rohn put it this way: “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.”

Amid the constant hustle and bustle of life, it is important to pause and reflect on what kind of people we want to become, and how this vision compares with the quality of messages that we allow to enter our minds. If we are all impressionable to a greater or lesser extent, why not allow positive and constructive influences to help us achieve our goals?

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