Critical Thinking, Critical Consumption, Cultural Humility, Cultural Competency - Why We Need It All.
Last Updated: October 2024
Introduction: The Importance of Questioning
I question everything, especially because I never really used to at a young age.
When I was younger, I took everything as it was, exactly how it was handed to me. I was never taught how to think or how to ask questions - I guess I was also just never curious in that sense.
It never occurred to me that questioning the information presented was necessary to being a critical consumer. It could also be that I’m a little slow, but either way, critical thinking is a necessary skill that needs to be taught at the elementary school level.
Understanding the Relevance of Critical Thinking Today
With a high presence of the media, it’s important that we understand just what it means to be consumers and how to be mindful of this consumption.
We don’t necessarily have to “academically” think about what we’re reading, watching, or listening to, but it’s a good rule of thumb to keep questions rolling in your mind.
Whether we notice it or not, the media that we consume favors the dominant, white community. We can see this coined in the term, algorithm bias*. Well, how do you know that it’s biased? You create your algorithm. While that is true, with modern technology—cookies specifically—we are creating our algorithm. However, let’s go a little further back to discuss the creation of the algorithm and what happens within modern search engines.
In 2018, Noble (2018) found that Google is perpetuating narratives and giving power to dominant groups through their algorithms. It can be implied that this is all subconscious because of a lack of racial knowledge and representation. Whether consciously or not, it still negatively impacts marginalized groups. This, in turn, trickles down into every aspect of the internet that we consume.
Search engines specifically become impacted by the algorithm bias. For example, if you look up sh*t like “casual outfits,” do you notice the demographic? Or just when you look up anything, period? This can be on any search engine, like Google, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.
When you have to specify who you’re looking up—for example: Asian girl light brown hairstyle—it just implies that looking up “light brown hairstyle” doesn’t include Asian people. If you look up “light brown hairstyle,” what’s the demographic?
I didn’t have to type “White girl light brown hairstyle”; it’s the implication and non-inclusive way of reinforcing that the status quo is white. It may seem so minor to some, but it just reinforces white dominance.
Furthermore, the algorithms themselves have shown and proven to disproportionately impact underrepresented and marginalized communities, as shown in Noble’s (2018) research.
The Impact of Algorithm Bias in Media Consumption
This is why inclusivity and representation are SO important. If you don’t question what you look up on the internet or just what you consume on the internet, it can lead to a lack of critical thinking skills.
The thing is, we can’t just put this all on the consumers. What about the creators of these technologies? There needs to be some accountability within that realm, too. There needs to be a real change; there needs to be true representation and inclusion within these tech companies to prevent instances in which underrepresented communities become disproportionately affected by biased algorithms.
I don’t want to disregard performative actions that occur either. It takes more than just having someone as a “face of diversity and inclusion”; it’s not the flex you think it is, Mr. Institution. Listening, learning, and seeking different experiences and stories from all different kinds of people is what’s going to really help with learning and understanding what inclusivity and representation really means. You have to really step outside of your own circle to learn from and listen to others, to create true change within society.
With that important tangent, let’s circle back to being critical consumers of the media. As mentioned, it shouldn’t be put solely on us to seek and question the media that we consume; there should definitely be change created within these tech spaces, which is also part of an even longer conversation that I am so glad to talk about, too. But, that’s not necessarily what we’re talking about now.
Becoming Critical Consumers: Responsibility Beyond Individuals
With being a critical consumer comes being a critical thinker. This helps to understand and dig deep into what the media is trying to say and make you think about the ways you consume media. Who posted this? What are their beliefs? Is there already bias embedded by the owner of this media post?
In other words: Always do your own research.
Fostering Critical Thinking Skills in Education
That just felt necessary to say. You can’t just believe everything that is handed to you. Question it. It’s okay to. That’s not what you’re taught in school growing up. You’re not taught how to think or how to learn (I mean, unless you’re a curious learner, which I was not, haha). You just “learn” random “facts” and sh*t. That can be part of a larger conversation, and to get a glimpse into it, read more here!
We are taught to basically memorize and regurgitate facts. It was rare that someone wanted to learn because no one really taught us how to actually learn or really have fun with learning. No one truly connected with the material that was presented to us. You’re basically just taught how to memorize things, how to take information as it is—and barely on how to critically think, be problem solvers, be culturally competent, and exhibit cultural humility.
That’s just a small snippet into what the education system should be implementing into their curriculum, especially in schools that have large populations of underrepresented communities.
I just think that implementing all of this into the education system and granting more money and resources to the education system would be a proactive approach to social justice.
It’s an institution (UGH), so it makes it a lot harder to try to get things like this implemented—like cultural competency, cultural humility, and all that. We’d be teaching children to question what’s presented to them, as they should, and, unfortunately, there are a lot of places that would definitely oppose this. It’s definitely a more progressive approach, which would, unfortunately, create a lot of chaos and backlash. That is also part of a larger conversation.
Conclusion: The Path Toward Empathy and Social Justice
With all that said, be aware of what’s being put out on the internet in whatever capacity. Understand that representation and inclusion are important in all aspects of media consumption. Representation and inclusion are important for communities and individuals. Representation helps with connection, and inclusion helps with cultural competency and cultural humility. All of this, in turn, helps build empathy and helps us strive toward social justice.
xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3
Maybe I’m an overthinker, maybe this was just a tangent, but I do think everything I said holds truth.
*I learned about this in a class I took - Tech Inequality in the Silicon Valley. Keep an eye out for a blog post regarding everything related to this, that way you can fact check me and my sources (;
Noble, S. U. (2018). Searching for black girls. In Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (pp. 64–109). NYU Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1pwt9w5.6
Entrepreneurial Queens vs. Corporate Baddies: The Battle for Time
Last Updated: October 2024
Do you ever realize how much of our lives are surrounded by time?
We are literally constrained by the clock. We think about it constantly, especially in a capitalist country, where time and money are damn near synonymous. We are obsessed with making money, which directly correlates to time.
Everyone is constantly moving, trying to figure out their next move.
I don’t want to live like that LMAO where the clock runs my life.
Me and the clock
I’m having a taste of what it’s like to have the clock run your life, and holy sh*t, y’all really just settled for this? (A corporate lifestyle btw, if that wasn’t clear) Working constantly, stuck in the same f*cking cycle - day after f*cking day.
Don’t get me wrong, I really love my job, I just don’t get how people don’t get tired of this sh*t. Like wtf do you MEAN we only have a TWO DAY break in between five whole ass work days.
That’s some f*cking bullsh*t.
Inner conflict with time
Bouncing back off of how this generation is changing the workplace, we’re desiring for more freedom financially, personally, and socially. I still want to work and hustle, but as an entrepreneur, not as an entity in a corporation. In a corporation, you’re running on their time instead of your own time. As much as I love my job, idk how much longer I can run on this kind of never-ending corporate clock.
I’m really struggling to find time and balance between corporate work and my own passions. I want to give all of my time to my business, obviously, but it’s f*cking exhausting, b!tch - trying to balance being a corporate baddie, but also striving towards becoming an entrepreneur.
Being a corporate baddie isn’t all that bad. I am definitely learning so much, and think it’s a necessary step for me in my own personal growth, but it’s like, at what cost? Freedom?
The true struggle
The real struggle is being on a strict schedule.
Listen, if I get a minute off of schedule, everything is f*cking ruined. And this is what I mean by running by clock time. The clock/time is literally running my life rather than the other way around. Do I want that? I mean, who tf wants that? Where every minute of your life is worth, essentially, more than money. Where you’re literally racing the f*cking clock. Like, bro, that’s stressful as f*ck.
But, hey, #GrindDontStop.
Even though it f*cking should. Lol like slow tf down, let me catch a f*cking breath!!!
Part of me is like, why don’t we just live off natural time, like the natural human beings that we are? Then the other part of me is like “WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK”, I mean, Riri said it best, amirite.
So many struggles, feel me? LMAO
What y’all think?
xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3
Dive into Fearlessness: How Conquering the Unknown Leads to Life-Changing Experiences
Last Updated: October 2024
I want you to really live your f*cking life to its fullest, with zero regrets.
This is why we need to be doing things that scare us, because how else can we learn, grow, and have real experiences? If we remain stable and comfortable, it can be much harder to reach our full potential.
Using Failure as a Value
There’s a lot of value in failure, honestly. I know that may be scary and hard to hear, but it’s the truth. You are only doing yourself a disservice when you don’t take risks solely because you are afraid of failure. Think of it in this way:
Everything always works in your favor.
There is always a reason why things take an unexpected direction, and understanding that can shift your perspective. Failures are a valuable lesson—learn from them, grow from them. Failure is just a detour to your destination, a temporary setback.
One thing about me, I’m not afraid to fail. Not that many things scare me. Obviously, I have my set of fears, but fear of failure doesn’t fall in that line. How will I learn without making mistakes?
I’ve had my set of failures. In college, I struggled academically at first—to the point where I thought I wouldn’t graduate on time. But that realization pushed me to rediscover my love of learning and prove to myself that I could turn things around. That’s how I found my passion for blogging.
Taking Advantage of the Words You Say to Yourself
Given my track record, I genuinely feared that I (1) wouldn’t graduate and (2) wouldn’t graduate with honors. But I had a vision: I wanted to graduate with a 4.0 GPA—very ambitious of me—considering I was averaging a B to C grade level.
I essentially manifested the sh*t out of my life. I would tell myself, every day, “I am graduating in spring 2022 with a 4.0 GPA.” Wherever there was space in my planner, I would write it down: “I am graduating in spring 2022, everything always works in my favor.”
At first, I wasn’t sure if the words I was saying were real, if what I was writing down was even real. But I had no choice. I had to believe it. There was no way that I wasn’t graduating in four years—not only for financial reasons, but I had set that goal since the beginning. Not believing in myself wasn’t an option.
After putting in the work, not only were things looking up, but I found my newfound love of learning. My hard work led me to this: blogging. I loved writing essays, especially academic essays, and it opened up a new path for me.
When it came to blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. Was I afraid to fail? Absolutely. Was I afraid of what people would think? Absolutely. Was I afraid that no one would read it? Absolutely.
But at the end of the day, I had to remember why it was important for my voice to be heard. I had to block out the noise and focus on my fulfillment, understanding that my voice is important and valuable. This is how I like to express myself, and if someone doesn’t like it or if no one even reads it, at least I know that I tried and put my all into it.
What I Learned about Self-Talk
You really have to rewire your brain—take advantage of your self-talk and understand that setbacks don’t define you. It’s all about how you react and how you decide to move forward.
You can use your setbacks as a learning experience, or you can be negative about it. I chose to use my setbacks as a learning experience, to spring me forward, rather than letting them drag me down. There’s always more than one way to react to anything. I encourage you to use the one that ends in: things always working in your favor.
This is all about how you speak to yourself. Unfortunately, it can be easier to feed into your negative thoughts, especially automatic negative thoughts or ANTs, which ultimately rewires your subconscious negatively.
Instead, try telling yourself every day: “everything always works in my favor” or “everything always works out for me,” you can even add “I’m so lucky, everything always works out for me,” because it truly works. Your subconscious repeats itself and that’s just exactly what’s going to happen.
Obviously, there’s work that needs to be done to get to that place of reaching your manifestations or goals. I didn’t just say those things to myself without putting in the work. Since I was telling this to myself every day, I had to find ways in order to make it true—whatever it took, honestly.
Take advantage of your subconscious and rewire it to believe that you can achieve anything you want, despite setbacks.
If you’re having trouble and continue to speak negatively about yourself, I also encourage you to switch your thoughts into the third person. For example, “I am going to fail” turns into “Kaels is going to fail” and just take a moment to think, why would someone say that about yourself? Think of yourself in positive terms—you deserve it. <3
Conclusion
Take those risks, step outside of your comfort zone, and don’t be afraid to fail. We have to really live and experience our lives, y’all! There’s value in everything that you do, and that goes with your reactions to your downfalls. We gotta have the downs to have the ups, let’s be real.
Elsa said it best: into the unknown.
xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3
How the Next Generation is Prioritizing Creativity over Conformity and Changing the Workforce
I love how we all know our worth and won’t let something like corporate America get in the way of that. We all will do what we need to do, to get to where we need to be, but we will not be treated less than human.
We will not allow anyone to talk to us with any level of disrespect and we won’t be treated robotically either.
There was just such a lack of empathy and knowledge before (I mean, we can def argue that that’s still a problem, because I mean, hello - but that’s a different story for a different time) that now, we are just feeling as if enough is enough. We want things to change for the better.
I feel like there's more of a grasp to be our own entrepreneurs - we still want our creativity and energy to continue to flow into projects, just without constraint. We mainly just want to do something we love, while making money, and without feeling so exhausted all the time. There needs to be a good balance when it comes to working and living.
We want the freedom to live, not just survive.
With rapid advancements in technology, there’s so much more exposure to things that we wouldn’t have seen before. There’s so much more widespread knowledge to be gained. With that comes responsibility, obviously, but it’s just so available, so why wouldn’t we want more for ourselves? Why would we want to be stuck in a cycle? Feel me?
I want to hear what y’all think about this. Or if you even think about this? Thoughts? Questions? Additions? Let me know, I’m so curious.
xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3
Finding Balance in a World of Uncertainty: A 20-Something's Reflections on Creating Change and Living Freely
Updated: Oct 2024
Does anyone else feel stuck between “the world is ending, stop giving a f*ck” and “we gotta make changes to save the world”? Or are we all just collectively thinking, “what in the actual f*ck is going on?”
I find myself struggling to carry on with my “normal life,” just acting as if the world isn’t in complete shambles.
This is especially true with respect to the atrocities in Palestine—now pushing into Lebanon—Congo, and Sudan. We really do not learn anything from history at all. History has proven time and time again that it repeats itself, sometimes tenfold. All I want to say is #FreePalestine, #FreeCongo, #FreeSudan, #FreeLebanon, and FUCK COLONIALISM.
It becomes so hard to think about any kind of future when it seems as if the world is coming to an end. The continuous negative impacts of colonialism and capitalism reveal themselves every day, yet nothing seems to change.
Thoughts About the Future
I feel as if I have a responsibility to create a better future for the next generations, but I cannot fathom even thinking beyond a few years from now. Obviously, things are constantly evolving, but at this rate, how can we even be sure that it is evolving into a better place? Not only are mass genocides occurring, but the climate crisis is also in disarray.
There is a whole population of Palestinian, Congolese, Sudanese, and Lebanese people who need our help—who deserve to be free. We’re supposed to learn from history, but history is currently repeating itself with no change. It feels like we’re really pushing, but what do we need to do in order for it to stop?
Not to sound morbid, but when so many things are plummeting, how can we even possibly think the future is bright? It’s not supposed to sound so dark, but I mean, how else is it supposed to sound?
Thoughts to Consider
The more media I consume, the more obvious it is that the newer generation has a better understanding of empathy and critical thinking. I know our algorithms are doing their job, but it seems more apparent that the newer generation advocates for a humanitarian approach.
When it comes to media consumption, we should continue to question what we come across and take the time to think before forming opinions, especially since media is far more present in our lives than it ever has been before. This is a big reason why critical thinking in schools is so important. But I digress. Everything exists on a spectrum, and we should continue to question what is presented.
There’s no doubt that media consumption is overwhelming. I think that while it’s important to educate oneself and stay up to date with current events, is there still room for our own self-care? This is where the inner conflict lies for me, at least.
By no means do I want to sound selfish, but it’s a genuine question. Why do I feel that it’s necessary to indulge in self-care? Why do I feel that it’s necessary to continue to think about a future? This is all beyond me—I, unfortunately, do not have any answers for you. I am privileged in the sense that I can look away from the atrocities and sleep well at night knowing that this isn’t happening to me, living in a country that is literally funding and being complicit in genocide.
Everyone always mentions the need for self-care, and while I definitely think it’s important, is it selfish to want it while others are literally suffering?
Conclusion
I didn’t want to end this on a morbid note, nor did I want to overwhelm anyone with the current state of the world. I don’t condemn anyone who is engaging in their well-deserved self-care because, let’s be honest, we all deserve self-care, and we all deserve to feel as if the world will be at peace.
With that, I just want to know your thoughts on trying to change the world and salvage it versus just letting it be and continuing to live your life as it is. Are our new critical thinking skills propelling us forward? Are we just thinking about the issues without trying to find any real solutions? It seems to be the direction we’re headed: understanding the issue but not having real, tangible solutions, which brings me back to my initial thought of “what in the actual f*ck is going on?”
xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3