Current Events > We live in the age of information

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Didn't they used to teach discernment in school? Or was I just fortunate enough to have had teachers that cared?

IRRC, you don't "discern" all that well.

Because we're living in the age of disinformation.

Because we're living in the age of disinformation.

It has been suggested that we are living through an information crisis. Comparable to the invention of writing and the printing press.

We are deluged by 'information', and have not yet adapted to the situation. Tools like 'common sense' and 'discernment' are not always up to the job of coping with sophisticated misinformation and the sheer weight of material available.

IMO, I don't think information or disinformation is the problem. I think people will believe in whatever the fuck they want to believe regardless of any information or facts because being delusional and having a headcanon better fits their narrative. The social and emotional comfort of maintaining these beliefs can sometimes outweigh the need for accuracy or truth.

I only do google searches for my news and information. If you use social media for news and information, it's on you.

we're living in the age of disinformation.

It's a problem for society, not just the individual.

Why do so many people choose to remain uninformed?

Regardless if it's individual or societal, no one is forcing people to digest all of the nonsense out there. No one is forcing society to not use their brains. It's really down to the individual. It's up to you what you read and consume.

Regardless if it's individual or societal, no one is forcing people to digest all of the nonsense out there. No one is forcing society to not use their brains. It's really down to the individual. It's up to you what you read and consume.

I only do google searches for my news and information. If you use social media for news and information, it's on you. If I see something on social media, I'll do a cross-check on google. If I don't see anything that looks legit on google relating to it, then I know it's fake.

"Regardless if it's individual or societal, it's actually individual" is just silly. You are born into biases, and maybe a lucky few of us aren't totally bound by them.

You could argue that society puts pressure on people to consume.

But that aside, this is a problem that is having a negative effect on everybody. When you respond to it with 'hey, I do everything right, it's your fault if you don't', you kind of miss the point in the rush to assert your own superiority.

I only do google searches for my news and information.

It still doesn't explain why people can't just do a quick Google search. Is it just laziness?

Have you not considered searching this yourself? I thought the media pipeline was a well-known concept here, but this is the second time this question has come up today.

tl;dr not only does human bias adjust how you look for information, but the algorithms in searching for things deliberately funnel you towards what it thinks you want. Different people will get different answers, and there are so many professional, official-looking lies out there.

Too much time online and not out in the real world.

Too many people thinking their opinions are facts and why take the chance of being wrong.

So...what's your suggestion then? Just turn off everything? Don't use the internet?

tl;dr not only does human bias adjust how you look for information, but the algorithms in searching for things deliberately funnel you towards what it thinks you want. Different people will get different answers, and there are so many professional, official-looking lies out there.