Introduction
Nowadays, with the fast development of the Internet and social networks, one has more opportunities to communicate with people from different countries and with various backgrounds. However, not everyone seems to be ready for this new experience. Although people now can learn much more about other cultures and worldviews, they tend to be stuck with a one-sided view on things that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called “a single story.”
Main body
The main danger of a single story is its potential to become a stereotype. It is easier to form an opinion about someone or something based on one known fact or source instead of conducting broader research on the topic. It becomes especially difficult to see the whole picture if mass media present only a small part of it. That is why those with more power and resources have more opportunities to create and transform stereotypes about the weaker and less influential ones, thus manipulating our opinions.
I am persuaded by Adichie’s theory of single and multiple stories, and I believe that it applies to everyone and everything. One may read several sources covering the same event and feel how one’s impression changes with every new story. As for college students, this theory may be useful for developing their critical thinking and habit of searching for various sources while conducting research.
Conclusion
To conclude, Adichie’s theory of a single story makes people aware of the world’s complexity and warns them to learn more about the object of criticism before judging it. Otherwise, one may believe in what the powerful ones want them to believe instead of seeing the truth. I am convinced that this theory teaches us to be more critical of the information we get and form our own opinion based on thorough research.