The world isn’t as bad as we think
Here’s why
Facts and stats shape how we view the world but can easily be presented in different ways to manipulate our perception of growth and change. Perhaps the world isn’t as bad as we think.
Over one billion people were in absolute poverty in 2011. This leaves families and households worldwide struggling to meet their everyday needs and consequently compromises their health and livelihoods.
Although this is a scary figure, it does not take into account a wider view. By broadening our perspectives, we find that in just 30 years, this number has fallen from 1.95 billion — almost a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty over just three decades. Almost a billion people can live a more comfortable and enjoyable life with less of a financial burden weighing down on them at all times. Clearly, this should be celebrated, though more must be done.
The news rarely celebrates progress. In Egypt, life expectancy has doubled from 36 to 72 in less than one hundred years. Instead, we are reminded of the tragic events such as the recent train crash that killed 32 people in the Nile-side town of Tahta. As a human race, our limited ability to interpret statistics leaves us vulnerable to being manipulated and misinformed and resulting in gloomy future prospects.
Who is to blame?
There are different parties to blame. Some think it’s the fault of the media while others blame governments and organisations for not driving change fast enough or in enough volume. Perhaps it could be the fault of our very own mindset where we believe and respond to negative information in an overdramatic and irrational manner.
The media is often the first party to be blamed. After all, they are the source of the majority of the information presented to us from the TVs at breakfast to the radios during our commutes. One of their main jobs is to draw attention and engagement from their viewers causing them to share their stories and discuss them with others. The best way to do this is through negative information which causes a surge in activity in a critical information processing area of the brain. As a result, our behaviour and attitudes tend to be shaped more powerfully by negative news, experiences and information.
A journalist’s job is to inflict a surge in brain activity. Writing a light-hearted and warming article about how far the world has developed and how the future looks so bright and idyllic is not going to attract much publicity. Contrarily, describing a tragic tsunami that swept across a country causing widespread damage to animals and people is more likely to catch people’s attention. Assuming journalists value their job and employment, they are subsequently obliged to commentate on more sinister matters. Blaming them would be unfair.
Blaming governments and organisations is also unjustified. Some of the subjects reported have been persistent matters for centuries and have caused political head-scratching throughout. Poverty, on a global scale, was first discovered after the Second World War, and despite real progress being made, remains a mammoth issue for parties to eradicate.
However, if it was that easy to fix, it would’ve been fixed by now. People expect too much too soon from those in charge and will overlook small, consistent progress when seeking immediate results.
Perhaps it is the fault of the people then. It is the public themselves who are responsible for the information gaps caused by the spread of fake and misleading news online. Our limited understanding of numeracy and literacy can lead to incorrect interpretations or false stories spreading throughout the commons. This is what drives the circulation of speculation and rumours online, particularly on social media.
“One of my great frustrations is seeing people who are very exercised about aspects of a system but don’t have a deep understanding of the workings of that system” Marcus Gilroy-Ware
Researchers can still get the figures wrong. After spending much of their lives studying particular aspects of global development or regional disparities, they can still end up getting it wrong. Confirmation bias leads astray these very people who call themselves ‘experts’ as they cherry-pick information that confirms their existing beliefs or ideas on a matter. They fail to consider both sides of the argument, or the greater picture of it, bringing them to biased and potentially foolish conclusions.
Overall, we are to blame. We are the root of the problem despite our tendency to shift the blame to the media and news outlets, or the governments that fail to provide the basic necessities for their people. We choose to take on misleading information and let it affect us, giving us a sheltered view of our world and our futures.
How to overcome it
We must find ways to bridge these information gaps. There are ways to ensure that negative news stories and figures do not confuse our views on a world that has made rapid progression across multiple issues that society faces.
Much of the good news is left out. For every report about the extreme poverty that children across the third world face, we must remind ourselves that many have been lifted out of financial and health-related hardship. By digging deeper, we may be able to undercover positive stories that are less frequently reported to the public.
There will not always be a positive, and many of the problems presented to us are still problems. But by blocking out the inherent instinct to believe everything we hear and realising that a lot of good news in the world is little heard of, we may see progress and the positive side in more of the global issues we face.
We must also broaden our perspectives: first by widening the time horizon that we view the data; second by considering the other side of each argument that we encounter; and finally, by making rational and sound projections for the future.
Although at this current period in time figures may seem stark, by reminding ourselves and finding out what they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago, we can potentially realise that change has most certainly be made. The issue may still be present for us to tackle; however, we must say to ourselves that things can be bad, but better than they were.
Similarly, by viewing both points of view, we can come to our conclusions on controversial topics and help to remove the bias that many news sources possess. Actively searching around for evidence that opposes a viewpoint or idea may cause us to change our perception of the topic. Perhaps there is no opposing view, and in that case, we can infer that this is a serious issue that must be addressed.
Finally, we must realise that past performance is not indicative of future returns. Although the world’s population has increased by almost 7 billion in just two centuries, it is predicted not to carry along this exponential curve. The UN expects the world population to level out at the end of the 21st century. By exposing ourselves to accurate predictions into the future, we may realise that issues we are facing today may be improving into the future and will not simply follow their previous trajectory.
Overall, I urge you not to get downhearted about the perpetual cycle of misleading news stories that may narrate the gradual depletion of mankind. Instead, actively engaging with the information and reminding ourselves that positive news is often hidden can brighten our futures and put us in a better mindset going forward.
This article was inspired by the book ‘Factfulness’ by Hans Rosling. He goes into depth about some of the topics covered in an eye-opening and gratifying read.
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Ted Jeffery
