Mean People

As a child, a song advised, “Be careful little eyes what you see.” It stressed the idea that you act on what you focus on.

And now, it has become worse.

A study published in Aggressive Behavior says that watching mean people produces mean people.

Watching a clip of two girls fighting over a boyfriend produces the same emotional reaction as a murder scene. The viewing “primes” people for aggression.

One author said, “TV shows depicting friends putting each other down in the name of a joke have effects.”

Society immerses us in visual images through all kinds of media. It keeps people watching by feeding images and words of anger and fear. They are potent triggers.

You cannot (aside from turning off everything) escape from its presence, but we can choose whether to watch it. Even if it is the hot show everyone talks about, you can say, “I don’t watch that.’

The psalmist said:

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (Psalm 119:37, ESV)

So, if you don’t want to become a mean person, take one step…don’t watch meanness, regardless of its source.