Wednesday 4 February 2015

Why Sometimes It's Better Not To Know

Living in the digital age, we're used to knowing pretty much everything we want to know. If we want to know something we didn't already, a few taps of a keyboard and the information is there in seconds. While it's important to educate yourself on things you're interested in, I find that when it comes to more personal situations it's sometimes better to not know.

I've always been a big believer in 'what you don't know can't hurt you'. I don't want to know what people say about me when I'm not there. I don't want to be told things that could upset me. While sometimes it is important to know, when there is nothing that can be done about it and the only possible outcome is upset, I'd rather be kept in the dark.

I'm aware that a lot of people have a problem with this, but my view is simple. If it's going to hurt me unnecessarily and there is nothing I, or anyone else can do about it, what will I gain from knowing it? If the answer is nothing other than becoming upset, I don't want to know. I know a lot of people would want to know if people were talking about them when they weren't there and I, like everyone else, obviously wonder what is said about me, but ultimately if it's negative I'd rather not know. While many people would argue that it's important to know, I'd really rather not.

The school I'm currently at is the complete opposite of me. There appears to be a culture of telling people every time their name is mentioned, despite what the outcome of this may be. If someone's talking about you while queuing up to buy lunch and someone hears, they'll tell you. If someone gets told something about you or someone you're close to, they'll tell you. Its not quite gossip because its contained, its controlled and it's all true, but I personally find it completely unnecessary. While I do believe you should be honest with your friends, I also think that's a very different thing to telling them things that will upset them.

What do you think? Would you rather know and be hurt by something or be left in the dark and never know any different? 

Lucy x

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