Does the Character of the People You Listen to Matter?
Whenever it comes out in the news that a public figure — a politician, podcaster, author, influencer — is enmeshed in some scandal or guilty of questionable behavior, there are inevitably comments on their social media pages, from their own followers/fans, to the effect of:
“I always felt like there was something off about that guy.”
Which has always made me wonder: If you got a bad vibe from someone, should you have been listening to them, following them, taking their advice?
I’m a big believer in the idea that you can discern things about a person’s character from the aura they give off — at least if you’re sensitive to it and paying attention. I know in my own life, when someone’s evinced bad juju, there almost invariably turns out to be a hidden reason for it. That’s true both of the people I’ve encountered in real life, and the media personalities I observe from afar. And when someone emits an off-putting “moral atmosphere,” I find I can’t listen to them; doing so gives me a subtly unsettled feeling — even if I agree with and find the things they say generally sound.
It’s clear that not everyone has the same response. To be honest, I would say I get a not-so-good vibe from the majority of influencers and public personalities out there; it feels like many of them have got some secret vice, or a skeleton in their closet, or just some kind of sickness in the soul. But they still enjoy widespread popularity. So most people either don’t notice an off-putting vibe, or do, but don’t care. Even when a figure’s misdeeds come to light, some continue to follow the person if they like what they have to say.
Am I too circumscribed in my media consumption habits, or are others too porous? Should people care about the character of the figures they allow to influence them? Is what someone says the only thing that matters, or is who says it also important?
Various philosophers have postulated opinions on this issue, and it’s possible to synthesize their counsel into a set of criteria for what advice to take, and from whom.
