Have you ever considered how you should proceed, how to question, criticize, defend yourself, and other methods? What I’m about to share is a tool to help people not only learn to defend themselves but also how to resist manipulation, deception, and other factors, not only online but also in real life.
This mental exercise consists of practicing seven questions. Each one has its own focus, but they all converge on questions 3 and 7. Therefore, pay close attention if you’re willing to try it, because it requires active, not passive, engagement.
Key note: This exercise not only strengthens privacy and security but also self-control, patience, and other personal virtues.
The list is as follows:
- Are they hiding something behind that attractive appearance?
What you see from the outside can be very attractive, tempting, even highly praised, but what might be behind it all? Is it a cleverly deceptive facade? Are things happening that aren’t being reported, raising suspicions?
– Application to the VPN (technology) industry: What you see on the surface is auditing, “no logs,” high speed, a large number of seemingly random servers, etc. But what about the inside? Is it capable of protecting me in critical situations? Do they deliver on their promises?
- Is pure quality more important than the number of people using the service?
A person should know what they’re looking for: quality or should they be swayed by the number of people using a service (whatever it may be)?
For example: The typical recommendations you see online are from the most recognized brands. In the VPN industry, they’re usually NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc., and in the security industry, like antivirus software, they’re usually Bitdefender, Kaspersky, etc.
Which of these are truly high-quality, or am I just passively following societal norms, losing my autonomy, my reasoning, and my ability to question everything?
- Do I blindly trust them, or do I rely on deep reasoning—even if it takes me longer to make the right decision—questioning the information I receive from external sources and not letting my emotions get the better of me?
Blindly trusting means committing one of the biggest mistakes without knowing why, how, etc. Alternatively, you can use your deep mental reasoning to implement various strategies, tactics, process corrections, questioning, and applying different types of attacks and defenses depending on the situation (this even includes refuting arguments or defending yourself in legitimate self-defense, for example). You can also design multi-way scenarios, considering what might happen or not, and anticipate potential problems down the road (not guessing). These are just some of the methods you use, avoiding emotional sway, to ensure you take more time but are as safe as possible.
For example: A stranger sends you a message on WhatsApp, saying a package will arrive soon (without mentioning the time or date). You don’t reply and block them without asking who they are. Ten days later, the doorbell rings. You look out the window but don’t open the door out of concern. You don’t see anyone, but you do see a package—a strange, mysterious box.
Here you must choose: Blindly trust a quick decision or use your deep reasoning. What do you decide? Remember, in critical situations like these, you need not only intelligence but also to know how to proceed, who to call if necessary (who do you trust? The neighbor? The police? Or would you act on your own?). Choose wisely. Fear is not an option.
- Is there a discrepancy between their words, their actions, and what they claim?
You have to know how to differentiate between these three: words are words, actions are visible or hidden depending on the case, and what you claim is what you are sure is true.
For example: If a VPN company says nice things, claims that it doesn’t keep IP logs, for example, and later its hidden action of revealing a person’s IP address to the authorities comes to light…
What will you do? Will you abandon it temporarily or permanently? What else is going on that you can’t see? Are they secretly doing the same thing to my data?
- Are there any emerging complexities—not yet established patterns—that could later lead to an unexpected surprise?
An emerging complexity is something that can arise from an existing issue and potentially have serious consequences, with or without warning.
For example: An emerging complexity in a VPN protocol fails to encrypt due to an unknown factor, but continues to function without prior notification. The user and the VPN provider remain unaware of the problem.
What would actually happen? Has someone intercepted the traffic, or is it a software bug? Is my data being compromised at the highest level? If you were unaware of this particular scenario, it would be unusual for these questions to arise.
- Are there patterns, from simple to complex, in other types of industries, whether similar, identical, or even higher-level?
Patterns are data, actions, and other known factors, but understood within broader contexts, not just in one specific area.
For example: If a company in the VPN (technology) industry makes a claim and doesn’t deliver, does another company in the food industry do the same?
Patterns can be cross-referenced and analyzed in many ways, including individual or group research, real-world comparisons, and more. If it has happened elsewhere and is happening here, there’s no reason to be surprised.
- Do their actions demonstrate true quality, or is it simply a facade designed to deceive, manipulate, etc.?
Actions speak louder than words, so it’s essential to determine whether it truly represents genuine quality or the opposite.
Example about advertising: You’re sitting alone, drinking lemon water and watching a documentary on TV. At 49 minutes and 20 seconds, an advertisement for a product appears, and it’s very tempting. You’re convinced (without using deep reasoning), and you say, “I like this…” You buy it with your card, and the notification says it will arrive on a certain day. The day comes and goes, and nothing. The next day, still nothing, and you start to doubt yourself. What’s going on?
Were you scammed? Did the person who designed and created the website do a truly high-quality job? What should I do? etc.
As you can see, there are only 7 questions, but questions 3 and 7 together already generate deeper questions that aren’t numbered here, including data, higher-level critical analysis, and more. What’s called binary thinking, if you correctly apply the above, will be superior because it integrates new capabilities like points 5 and 6 without negating the rest. For the right balance, I recommend using quick reasoning for situations you’re certain are as you say, to conserve mental energy, and deep reasoning for complicated, complex, and multi-layered situations that require more time but consume more mental energy.
This will be a great help to you in these times. It’s difficult to put into practice, but not impossible, and it requires practice, patience, and self-control. The choice is yours.