As Shane Dawson’s The Mind of Jake Paul series comes to a close, one of the most important lessons one take away from it is that you can’t make decisions, or assumptions, without all of the information. You have to seek information from all sources━or at least from as many as you can. And it is of the utmost importance to keep this in mind when consuming other media…*cough-cough*…the news.Based on the reactions and backlash from the second part of the series it is crucial that one does thorough research before making statements on sensitive topics. We can also learn from the backlash to Part 2 that message delivery matters, especially in terms of swaying opinions and evoking emotions out of the audience. While it may seem as though a source is giving rather straightforward facts and information, the tone of voice in which they are relaying this information and the images/graphics they show along with it, can make the audience feel one way━that something is worse than it actually is and it is a serious problem━while another source relaying the same information in a different tone, and with different graphics, can make the audience feel the complete opposite way━that something isn’t that bad, and isn’t that important.
As the series goes on, and the experiences of those that have been in Team 10 are discussed, the audience can start to hear stories that contradict the others that were put out separate from the series. After watching the first 7 episodes of the series as well as the many “Why I left Team 10” videos, I am still working on forming my own opinions on Jake Paul, Team 10, and the many others involved in this tangled tale. And I want to emphasize the fact that it’s okay to not have a concrete stance on every bit of information you are given because chances are, there are still key pieces missing from the puzzle that could help reinforce your stance on one side or another, and you just have to keep doing your own investigation to uncover as much of the missing pieces you can.
Think of it this way, just about every media source out there━whether it be a YouTube channel, a news channel, or an online magazine━is trying to sell you a story. However, it’s up to you to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. The second people see something they don’t like, or even something they do like, they spread the word in an attempt to call people to action. But we can’t act, or even react, really, unless we know what we are reacting to and how we can properly act accordingly.