Well, we would all like to think we are intelligent people and resistant to being manipulated.
There are studies that show that most people think they are resistant to marketing ads.
There are also studies that show that ads are effective on almost everybody.
> I’m hoping to be in a place where I’m afforded more freedom to form my own opinions on things from what others say
It is not the problem with freedom to form your opinions, it is the problem with the process of forming those opinions.
Unfortunately, most people form their opinions by accepting "facts" that already agree with what they know, feel or believe and by refusing most of what is conflicting with it.
And this thread shows this. People are already suspicious of the person or the company and so they will gladly skip the logical process and accept as facts something that is not even hearsay (hearsay still requires that you have a person testifying they heard something, which we don't have here because the poster is anonymous).
All valid points but isn’t this the fundamental perennial fight with freedom of speech? Of course this is a private forum but from what I can see it’s at least trying to be open. The benefits of letting people make unsubstantiated claims (as long as they are not inciting) seems fair to me is all.
There are studies that show that most people think they are resistant to marketing ads.
There are also studies that show that ads are effective on almost everybody.
> I’m hoping to be in a place where I’m afforded more freedom to form my own opinions on things from what others say
It is not the problem with freedom to form your opinions, it is the problem with the process of forming those opinions.
Unfortunately, most people form their opinions by accepting "facts" that already agree with what they know, feel or believe and by refusing most of what is conflicting with it.
And this thread shows this. People are already suspicious of the person or the company and so they will gladly skip the logical process and accept as facts something that is not even hearsay (hearsay still requires that you have a person testifying they heard something, which we don't have here because the poster is anonymous).