The quality of news and information that we are constantly exposed to has a huge impact on the course of our civilization. They can affect our psychological and physical states and shape our future. I have a question for us photojournalists and content creators and for the media that select and distribute our content: where do we want to head, toward problems or solutions?

Imagine holding a big, fresh, juicy lemon in your hands. Now imagine cutting it into slices, feel the acidic juice dripping onto your skin and perceive the overwhelmingly sour aroma spreading in the air. Now you take a juicy slice and stick it in your mouth, suck on it and taste its pungent tart flavor.

Is your mouth salivating? More than likely yes, because our body responds to images.

That’s why athletes use visualization to enhance their performance, and so do surgeons, musicians, actors or stockbrokers. Visualization is used to quit smoking, control weight and even by cancer patients. It’s not magic but it is a powerful tool: what we see can affect our psychological and physical states. Now, some people deliberately visualize an ideal future in order to be half-way there while… most people constantly “visualize” bad news on our economy, planet, society and so on…

Is this affecting our future? I believe that it is.

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