Why We Love Taking Sides (Even When It Doesn't Matter)

How Our Preferences for Information Impact Our Understanding

The other week, I posted something on Linkedin that turned out to be very controversial. People had feelings.

I shared this image on a Monday, aiming for a lighter post to ease into the week and spark some thinking. The post and my wording were intentional:  

There are two types of people… Those who have a home screen like the one on the left. Those who have a home screen like the one on the right.   If the left screen makes you physically uncomfortable, do you:

• Need chunks of time to work uninterrupted?

• Tend to observe first and second?

• Notice things that other people don’t?

• Feel your best when you have time to restore your energy from interactions?

• Find creative solutions that challenge complacency?

Use this icebreaker at your next team session. Notice what it reveals around preferences in working styles.

I deliberately avoided asking, “Does your home screen look like the left or the right?” Nor did I suggest one was better than the other. But the responses took that direction anyway. 

(I know some of you are already twitching because you have strong feelings about both screens. Stay with me. This will make sense.)

A Social Media Show-and-Tell

Apparently, I had started a game of “I’ll show you mine since you showed me yours.”  Strangers flooded the comments with posts of their home screens. 

Some people meticulously organized their apps into labeled folders:

Others had monochromatic color schemes.

Some displayed motivational messages.

There were the minimalists.

And the literalists.

Mannnny people shared their need to work without interruptions. For them, the phone isn’t just a tool; it’s an extension of how they process information. 

My LinkedIn inbox was already a graveyard of unread spam sales messages. It became completely unusable, flooded with screenshots and opinions. I even received messages and photos on other social media platforms. 

130,000 people have viewed the post, with hundreds commenting, liking, and sharing. But what stood out was how quickly people took sides. My original post didn’t declare a “right” or “wrong” choice, yet commenters did. 

I expected this. The way I framed the information made some feel like part of an out-group. It didn’t resonate with them.

Why People Took Sides

I knew starting with “There are two types of people in this world…” was polarizing. I wanted to evoke emotion and cue the audience to consider what matters to them. It made readers wonder, “Am I in one of these groups, or am I an outsider?” 

I was prepared for trolls. Instead, people got caught up in their feelings. 

People have very strong preferences about their phones—far beyond the two categories. A home screen reflects how someone thinks and navigates life. Some want instant access with one tap. Others prefer neatly labeled folders. Some need notification reminders, while others find them overwhelming and can’t focus until every red bubble is cleared. There’s always a group that instantly cringes at the number of notifications on the left image.

While I never proclaimed one screen as better, I reinforced the divide with the statement, “If your screen is like the one on the right…” and listing traits. Those statements could be true for someone whose home screen looked like the left. But people took sides in the comments, dismissing others as “wrong” and asking, “Why would anyone have a screen like that?”

What This Was Really About

I wanted to illustrate why storytelling with data is so important. 

Each home screen is a visual representation of data—whether it’s a to-do list, communication hub, notification system, focus tool, or organization method. Everyone has preconceived notions of how information should be structured for clarity. If it’s presented in a way that doesn’t match those expectations, people struggle to process it, or they make assumptions. 

This happens constantly in meetings. Leaders interrupt speakers, jump ahead, or challenge what they’re seeing—not necessarily because the data is wrong, but because it doesn’t align with how they expect it to be framed. Until they get answers to their internal questions, they struggle to absorb the message. 

We rarely recognize how strongly we feel about how information is shared—until we see it presented differently. We don’t just react to data; we filter it through our perceptions, especially when it lacks context or a clear story.   

These preferences shape our perspectives and what we believe to be true. When we encounter something unfamiliar, we often resist or dismiss it instead of trying to understand why it was presented that way. This is why debates about data quality, source credibility, or even visualization choices arise. 

How we frame information determines whether people engage, ignore, or misinterpret it. Data alone isn’t enough, the way we connect an audience to the insights influences whether they see meaning or just numbers. Because we all have biases, we unconsciously filter information through our experiences.

Figuring Out Your Audience

I often hear people say after a failed presentation, “We told the wrong story about the data.” Maybe not. More likely, they didn’t consider their audience and how to connect them to the insights. 

Instead of starting with slides, start with your audience:

• What do they need to hear so they can listen to you?

• What do they know about the topic?

• What do they care about?

• What do you want them to take away and act on?

When presenting to a new client or stakeholder, consider:

• What questions were you trying to answer and why?

• What did you learn?

• Why does it matter to them?

• What action do you want them to take?

The way we present information shapes how people perceive and react to it. If a simple screenshot can divide a crowd, imagine what’s happening in your meetings when the stakes are higher.

As a Bonus, Use this for an Ice Breaker

I’ve said this before—I dislike icebreakers that feel like forced fun or meaningless small talk. But if you want a meaningful way to explore team dynamics, try this: Share two different home screens and ask people which one feels more like theirs. It will reveal a rich conversation about working styles, focus preferences, and decision-making approaches—far more effectively than asking, How can we work better as a team?

If this hit home (screen) and you want to learn how to tell stories with data, start a conversation.

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