The internet has given us much in the way of political discourse and creating a market place of ideas however it has given rise to seclusionism and echo chambers for people who don't want anything but their own opinions bounced back at them.
However, as we are seeing today the prominence of echo chambers and hive mentality is ruining much of our civility in the way that people can't even stand to hear a different opinion without freaking out or even the most learned take their own opinion as fact in something in call intellectual masturbation, it's extremely common now days to have a conversation with someone who uses their own bias and friends as factual reality on a subject.
This happens to us all no matter who you are there are a lot of things that echo chambers and hive mind mentality do right such as debunking stigmas or cultural norms, but this often gives rise to the ivory towers we see in society such as the media or the political elites and everything in between, so what can you personally do to make sure you truly have an open mind?
Challenge your strongest convictions.
This is one that i try to do on a regular basis, it's incredibly easy to go looking for something that confirms your bias, you're literally a google search away, however almost none of us going actively searching for things that contradict us or may give us greater insight into something.
For example I'm extremely conservative but also very liberal, that may sound like a contradiction or cognitive dissonance but it actually isn't.
Aristotle said it the best that "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" I would also add that accepting a conscious hypocrisy or contradiction is also the mark of an educated mind to be able to hold two view points, that while vastly different can be made to work in tandem with each other in a synergy.
But there is also a means to challenge your convictions that will often times lead to new pathways, for example.
Science has shown that vaccines don't cause autism and if they do it's an incredibly low percentage, however internet echo chambers have given rise to the whole vaccines cause autism argument but if you actually look at the for vs against argument you can see a completely different objective question arises in the form of; "should we be more concerned with what we put into our bodies" a more bi-partisan question that both sides can engage in.
But challenging your bias is a tough one to get started with, I myself was incredibly anti christian when i was younger and wouldn't so much as hear anything a Christian would say to me, it wasn't until i met a friend who explained theology and theism in general that i would become to be more friendly towards them, now i'm actually more friendly towards Christians than i am to fellow Atheists.
So how do you challenge yourself?
Very simply, find something you don't agree with and read it even if you know you're not going to agree with it because as i stated above it can often lead to some very interesting questions and introspection on your ideals.
I would say go out and talk to someone with a completely opposing viewpoint to you but given how terrible discourse is in the west these days you're probably just going to get angry with the person and nothing will come of it.
Take one of your strongest held beliefs, political or otherwise and go and look at the complete opposite of it for a few minutes, it's not meant to change your mind but it's an exercise that can give you a bit of humility when it comes to other peoples opinions, even if they're wrong.
Hopefully this can help you better understand your own bias and how to actually be open minded instead of reactionary when you're faced with something or someone you don't agree with.
