Breaking the Silence: Confronting Doxophobia and Embracing Expression
Understanding the Paralysis of Fear in Sharing Opinions for Collective Progress
As we look around, we see a world filled with changes and inventions. Individuals established inventions that did not previously exist. These specific changes and inventions came to people’s minds in response to their needs at the time, and after expressing new ideas, they gradually became a habit or rule over time.
Have you ever thought about what would happen if the first person or inventor didn’t express or share his idea with people? Would we still have something less? Would it come to anybody else’s mind later?
What’s Doxophobia?
Doxophobia is the fear of expressing opinions for fear of being judged, rejected, mocked, or criticized. In this topic, I’m going to talk about the effects and consequences of doxophobia on humans’ lives and the world.
Today, in the age of inventions and developments, we are grateful to those who have given the world a new face through their inventions and creativity. Except for natural origins, everything we see around us is a human-created idea that did not previously exist. Then it evolved into a theory, a test, and finally a habit or rule. Thinking about these inventions is extremely stimulating, especially when you consider what would happen if they did not exist.
For example, modern roads are two-way, allowing us to travel in opposite directions and requiring us to go in from one side and return from the other. ignoring which direction to go and come because countries follow two norms. Have you ever wondered who was the first to suggest, “Let’s go from the right side and come from the left side because it allows us to drive or ride faster and safer?” If this person had not suggested it, would anyone else have thought of it, or would we still have crowded streets with disorganized drivers and hundreds of crashes per day?
This concept emphasizes the value of expressing one’s opinions. Perhaps for the first time, people felt embarrassed to suggest their ideas for fear of being mocked, judged, criticized, or rejected; however, if the idea is beneficial, it will be accepted by society, and all will follow.
If we think about it, there are thousands of woulds and wouldn’ts, but the key point is that all these changes are in the favor of those who thought, analyzed, dared, shared their ideology, and took a step forward in world improvement.
We can also see it from another angle: people who knew something but were afraid to say it. In this case, there are thousands of things buried with people beneath the ground, and if they shared, we might have a much more developed world than we do now.
What’s on your Mind?
If you have something untold to the world that you believe would make a significant difference, you are accountable for it. Even if what you believe is incorrect, you must fulfill your responsibilities as a human being. You should not be afraid if it is not true. There are hundreds of thoughts and beliefs that no one has completely accepted or rejected, but sharing the idea caused a change in the world, causing a group of people to think and research, and along the way, they discovered several other things that benefited the world.
A Fistful of Dust
Consider all those who could have written their names in history books and been remembered forever, but for fear of being mocked or judged, they passed up the opportunity to be a part of history, and they are now nothing more than a fist of dust.
I Imagined:
As everyone has ideas and solutions for various problems, I also had one in the technology section. As we all know, the world is competing to create cellphones with convenient charging methods, the longest battery life, and other features. I once wondered what it would be like if companies created solar power phone cases that allowed people to charge their phones by placing them upside down in the sun. After some time, I shared it with someone, and he said it had been created, and I was like, “Oh, I haven’t told anyone; how did they create it?”
For sure, it came to others’ minds to do so, and it happened. But what if this was a critical issue that no one shared?
I’m not sure if this product succeeded or not, but I’m sure the concept of a solar power case will be used for a variety of purposes, one of which may be ideal for something. The score for this success will also be assigned to the first person who suggested using a solar power case with a vehicle.
Aside from the major innovations that led to other inventions, such as electricity, technology, and machinery, I’d like to look at a simple invention that provides the main idea of this article.
Traffic lights are one of the most widely used systems today, allowing millions of vehicles to transit safely. After the increase in vehicles and road width, traffic officers were unable to control traffic, and the invention of traffic lights has significantly hampered the transportation system. Assume that all traffic lights in the world went out for one minute. How many accidents, injuries, and victims would there be? Even after the traffic lights are turned back on, there will be hours of traffic everywhere due to that one minute. What if the inventor did not suggest traffic lights? Will we still have unorganized transportation, or will someone else come up with the idea?
Fear of expression has two side effects:
If we have something valuable but do not share it, we will face two consequences. First and foremost, it is possible that sharing it will transform us into a new person with a new personality, someone significant in society, and an influencer. However, if we did not share it, we would remain as simple as we were previously. The second challenge is that we are taking a chance from the world to experience something new, something that will bring positive changes in our lives, and God knows when another person will have this idea again.
Finally, I’d like to ask my loyal readers about their own experiences with having untold ideas, as well as ideas that someone else has stolen from your mind without copyright. Let’s see how many unspoken words lurk beneath our minds and decide whether this is acceptable to others or not. Let us overcome our fear of expressing ourselves and say what we’ve been holding back for so long.
To expand this journey, clap 50 times and leave comments so that my post goes viral and we have a variety of ideas from different people.
Thanks for reading this article so long,
Matin Haqshanas
Subscribe to get an email whenever I post articles like this!
Find more insightful reads on diverse topics by checking out my other articles!
