YOU GO EXPLAIN TIRE! - by The Zasi

Have you ever had an opinion, only to change it because everybody around you was saying something different? You know that feeling. You are there, confidently thinking, “No, this thing no make sense.” Then you hear your friends saying the exact opposite. You check social media. Same thing. You enter another conversation. Same thing again. Before you know am, you don change mouth. “Actually, I think you people are right.” But deep down, you can't even believe what you've just said. Welcome to the wonderful world of bandwagon mentality. Bandwagon mentality is simply the tendency to support an idea, opinion, trend or behaviour because plenty people are already supporting it. In other words, “If everybody dey do am, abeg, who be me to question am?” And honestly, we have all done it at some point. A new song starts trending. Everybody says it is the best thing since sliced bread, so you start nodding your head—even when the song never really enter your head.Y'all probably don't need an example of this. 🌚 Everybody says a particular person is terrible, so you join the dragging, even though you no really know wetin happen. A particular opinion starts trending online, and suddenly, anybody who thinks differently becomes the enemy. Una don start again. The scary part is that sometimes, we are not following because we agree. We are following because we want to belong. Nobody wants to be that one person sitting quietly while everyone else is shouting, “Yes!” So instead of asking, “What do I actually think?”, we ask, “What is everybody thinking?” And boom—personal opinion don disappear.Poof! Gone with the wind. Social media has made this even more interesting. One viral tweet can make thousands of people believe they have suddenly become experts on a subject they heard about five minutes ago. Someone says, “This is the worst thing ever!” Another person reposts it. Another person adds their own opinion. Before evening, the whole internet has reached a conclusion. Meanwhile, you are there thinking, “Wait o. Did anybody actually check if this thing is true?” But if you ask that question, people may tell you, “Oga, rest.” That is the problem with popular opinion. Sometimes, because an opinion is loud, we mistake it for truth. But popular does not always mean correct. If ten people jump inside a gutter, you no go jump because you dey fear say dem go call you antisocial. Sometimes, the crowd is simply wrong. Having a different opinion does not mean you are stubborn. It does not mean you think you are better than everybody. And it certainly does not mean you must argue with everyone. Sometimes, it simply means you took the time to think for yourself. Of course, we should listen to other people. Nobody knows everything. You can hear someone else's perspective and realise, “Oh, I never look am like this before.” Changing your mind because you have learnt something new is not weakness. The real problem is changing your mind only because everybody else changed theirs. There is a difference. We need to learn how to say, “I hear you, but I disagree.” And we need to stop being afraid of the dreaded question: “Why do you think so?” Because sometimes, you go explain tire. But abeg, explain. Think. Question. Listen. Then decide what you believe. Because at the end of the day, na your brain you carry enter this life—not the crowd's. So, before you jump on the next popular opinion, pause small and ask yourself: “If everybody stopped saying this tomorrow, would I still believe it?” If the answer is no… My dear, you don already join the bandwagon.

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