The Internet Is Making Us Dumber
By: Ditya Mahandaru
Tags: Digital, Learning, Life Lessons, Social Media, Internet

Being critical to what we consume on the internet is a must

The vast majority of information available on the internet are just irrelevant or outright false and misleading. Even, official statistics, data, or credible information from credible sources may contain data that are outdated and are no longer irrelevant. Rigorous insight is a prerequisite to a healthy experience on the internet.

By being critical to what we consume, and always asking whether the information we received on the net are relevant and true, we can always try to avoid being misled by irresponsible actors. One insight I got from Michael Simmons is that in order to be able to really divulge through vast internet for truly valuable information, ask yourself these questions when you read through the article:

will this make me smarter? Will this piece of information change the way I see the world and experience it?

The key to tackle the information overload, and filter through all the negative news and information on the net is to find the groundbreaking, mind-boggling information. I never once said that the internet won’t give anyone a valuable insight, but one needs to dig deeper through the rubbish to get it, and it indeed takes time.

Learn to avoid biases

The human brain is full of shortcuts, that's why we have biases in order to be able to quickly process information and enable us to make subconscious judgments.

However, these shortcuts are also full of “signs to the wrong roads”. Take, for example, the confirmation bias whereby we tend to accept ideas that are suitable to our beliefs. This enables us to actually filter information which according to our subconscious mind are “true”, but this information may not be actually true if our beliefs and assumptions are false.

This system of biases ultimately may lead humans into a cage, whereby their mind is locked inside a fixed set of ideas they already held on to. This explains why it is really hard to actually change people’s faulty minds because it involves the process by which one needs to break the cage, release the person from the false assumptions that they held to with pride.

Continuously cross-check facts from multiple sources

Lastly that I can provide to you, is to learn from multiple sources. One possible scenario where people get stuck with the wrong information is explained again by Michael Simmons as echo chambers. Echo chambers is a phenomenon whereby people who hold similar ideas tend to flock together, again thanks to biases, especially confirmation bias, that is unfortunately a natural part of human beings.

Echo chambers are a set of groups with like-minded individuals within it sharing information based on a single perspective.

As one group mingle with one another who shared the same belief, then the result is pretty clear: the information is similar to each other and they do not necessarily give an objective overview or critiques from one another. Instead, individuals need to go through these echo chambers, by checking between different sources, in order to gain new perspective on the problem and re-evaluate the truth of the information.

As you proceed to cross-check information, there may be a lot of relevant information that may develop your in-depth knowledge of the matter, or discoveries that will “change the way you see the world”. These gems, the relevant “groundbreaking” information, is truly the one that enable you to advance in the era of information overload.