For some time now, more and more people have been eager to express their opinion. They feel the need to apologize in advance for saying something meaningful. They fear being excluded in order not to adhere to the common narrative. May their words be misunderstood and remain marked for life. To be blacklisted by the enemies of any minority group who believe the world must revolve around them.
Thus, self-censorship grows like wildfire.
However, self-censorship and the politically correct extreme often take the form of "oppressive righteousness". Oppressive justice occurs when we perceive that we cannot share our point of view because it challenges the principles in vogue at the moment. So we end up measuring each word to the millimeter before pronouncing it, evaluating it from all possible angles, transforming communication into a juggling game on a razor's edge, depriving it of any authenticity.
What is self-censorship in psychology?
More and more people mentally "process" what they are about to say because they are afraid of offending someone - even if there will always be someone who will end up taking offense - they try to find the perfect time to say something and worry too much about how others will interpret theirs. words. They feel anxious about expressing their opinion and feel the need to apologize for it in advance. They typically take the worst for granted and worry about anything that could go wrong. These people end up trapped in a self-censorship mechanism.
Self-censorship is a mechanism by which we become extremely careful about what we say or do to avoid negative attention. It's that voice in your head that tells you "you can't" or "you mustn't". You can't express your opinion, you don't have to show what you feel, you can't disagree, you don't have to go against the grain. In short, it is the voice that tells you that you cannot be who you are.
Interestingly, self-censorship is on the rise regardless of how moderate or extreme the views of society are. Researchers from the universities of Washington and Columbia found that self-censorship has tripled since the 50s in the United States today. The phenomenon is so widespread that in 2019 four out of ten Americans admitted to self-censoring, a more common trend among those with higher education.
These political scientists believe that self-censorship occurs mainly due to the fear of expressing an unpopular opinion that ends up isolating us from family, friends and acquaintances. Therefore, it could be a mere survival strategy in a polarized toxic culture, in which different groups find themselves hopelessly divided on an ever wider range of issues.
In such a rigid context in which only opposites are perceived and there is no room for meaningful intermediate points, saying the wrong thing implies running the risk that others will identify you as part of the "enemy" group in any case, from vaccines to war, gender theory or flying tomatoes. To avoid confrontation, stigma or exclusion, many people simply choose to self-censor.
The long and dangerous tentacles of self-censorship
In 2009, nearly a century after the Armenian Holocaust in Turkey, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, historian Nazan Maksudyan analyzed how much of the historical narrative of those events could actually reach Turkish readers today and seep into the country's ongoing social debate. .
After analyzing Turkish translations of history books, he found that most modern writers, translators and editors manipulated and distorted some data, blocking the freedom of access to information. What is interesting is that many of them censored themselves, when facing the genocide of Armenians during the First World War, to avoid public censorship or to gain the approval of the dominant sector in society.
This is not the first time something like this has happened, nor will it be the last. Svetlana Broz, who served as a doctor in war-torn Bosnia, found that many people helped Muslims but kept it secret to avoid retaliation from their own ethnic group. But they felt a huge need to share their stories.
Of course, self-censorship is usually exercised on those issues that society considers "sensitive". Regardless of the reasons for self-censorship, the truth is that when we don't have access to information that others have because they self-censor and don't share it, we all miss the opportunity to identify problems and find the best possible solution. What is not talked about becomes an "elephant in the room" generating friction and conflict, but without the possibility of a solution.
Self-censorship largely comes from "group thinking," which involves thinking or making decisions as a group in ways that discourage individual creativity or responsibility. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when the desire for harmony or conformity is irrational or dysfunctional. Basically, we censor ourselves to avoid negative criticism and attention. And in many cases it may even seem sensible.
However, the self-censorship that throws us into the arms of the politically correct it deprives us of authenticity, preventing us from directly addressing the issues that concern us or even the stereotypes that hinder progress. Very often behind the label "delicate issues" there is a real lack of social maturity to be able to dialogue openly and an inability to recognize one's limits.
As psychologist Daniel Bar-Tal wrote: "Self-censorship has the potential to become a plague that not only prevents the building of a better world, but also deprives those who exercise it of courage and integrity."
Of course, the concern about the negative reactions of others that leads us to censor ourselves is not entirely negative. It can help us think twice before speaking. However, social norms that marginalize unwanted views by inducing people to self-censor may facilitate coexistence to some extent, but such views will continue to exist because they have not been properly channeled or changed, they have only been repressed. And when something is repressed for a long time, it ends up exerting an opposing force that makes society and ways of thinking regress.
Stop censoring yourself without becoming pariahs
Taking an overly self-critical attitude, acting as relentless censors of our thoughts, words or feelings for fear of losing the approval of our social group can worsen our physical and mental health.
Not being able to honestly share our opinions and other aspects of our inner life can also be a particularly stressful experience, creating a deep sense of isolation. Self-censorship, in fact, contains a paradox: we self-censor ourselves to fit into the group, but at the same time we feel increasingly misunderstood and isolated from it.
In fact, it has been seen that people with low self-esteem, who are more shy and with fewer arguments are those who tend more to self-censor and are more politically correct. But it has also been found that these people tend to experience fewer positive emotions.
Instead, expressing our emotions reduces stress and brings us closer to the people we share values with, providing us with a sense of belonging and connection that is fundamental to our well-being.
To avoid the harmful consequences of self-censorship without becoming marginalized, we need to find a balance between the need to express ourselves authentically and to fit into a group or social environment. It is not always the right time or place to have a difficult conversation, but ultimately it is essential that there is space to address the sensitive issues that affect us and others.
This also means contributing to the best of our abilities, within our range of action, to create a climate of tolerance towards different opinions, without falling into the temptation to label others, so that everyone can feel more comfortable in expressing their own ideas. If we fail to create and protect these spaces of dialogue without people perceiving themselves as enemies on a battlefield, we will simply take a step back, because good ideas or just causes do not impose themselves by silencing those who think differently. they dialogue.
Sources:
Gibson, L. & Sutherland, JL (2020) Keeping Your Mouth Shut: Spiraling Self-Censorship in the United States. SSRN; 10.2139.
Bar-Tal, D. (2017) Self-Censorship as a Socio-Political-Psychological Phenomenon: Conception and Research. political psychology; 38 (S1): 37-65,
Maksudyan, N. (2009). Walls of silence: Translating the Armenian genocide into Turkish and self-censorship. Critical; 37 (4): 635-649.
Hayes, AF et. Al. (2005) Willingness to Self-Censor: A Construct and Measurement Tool for Public Opinion Research. International Journal of Public Opinion Research; 17 (3): 298-323.
Broz, S. (2004). Good people in bad times. Portraits of complicity and resistance in the Bosnian War. New York, NY: Other Press
Admission What is self-censorship and why shouldn't we hide what we think? was published first in Corner of Psychology.
