The (Mis)Information Age

Sophee Sanderson

We all differ in our online skills and activities. The way that I use the Internet and access information online is completely different compared to how my dad uses it and receives information. There have been countless times when my siblings and I have had to explain clickbait or fake news stories to my dad because he will believe anything he sees on Facebook. With the emergence of the Digital Age, people are quick to assume that individuals who have grown up during this time know exactly how to navigate the Internet world and differentiate the facts from the lies, but this isn't always the case. 

Think about how you consume information online. Is it from a digital news outlet or social media platform? Maybe it's from a podcast or a Youtube channel or even a quick Google search. Now think about all the possible sources behind those channels that people rely on for information and answers. There is no way we are all reading or consuming the same thing. For example, someone looking for the best way to cure a hangover might go to WebMd, while another person might listen to a dancing nurse on TikTok and another Internet user might go to their favorite blogger for help.

The point is, we are all getting our information from different sources, so how do we know who or what to trust? How do we differentiate what information is true and what isn't?

I'm not saying that finding different ways to cure a hangover is harmful to society or web users, but it emphasizes how we are fed different answers from different sources. So, if we really wanted to know something critical, like how safe the COVID-19 vaccine is, we could get thousands of different answers and opinions from different outlets, causing all of our opinions to differ.

According to an article posted by Taylor & Francis Online, people choose to put their trust into different sources based on socioeconomic, geographical and political status, as well as variables such as gender, race, class and health care. Could the age of social media and the World Wide Web be a direct cause of the spread of fake news and misinformation?

Research that focuses on online misinformation has honed in on political, economic and psychological elements, but could generational differences also have an effect on the spread of misinformation?

"The Information Age is disempowering us." 

In a Ted Talk by Alunga Madala, he states that there is a dark side to the Information Age, a side that is using us and making us powerless. He claims that there are three consequences of the Digital Age: attention fragmentation, information overload and mass misinformation and disinformation. 

Attention fragmentation is the concept that even just a small disruption can cause a cluster of diversions that divide your attention into several parts. Information overload happens when you obtain too much information at once and cannot clearly process it. The difference between misinformation and disinformation is that misinformation is unintended deceiving info and disinformation is info that is intended to be deceiving.

Consider these three repercussions and how they might apply to you. You may not even realize that they are happening to you, but do you think they are impacting how you absorb and recall information? Do you think there are ways to put an end to the spread of misinformation?

As I stated earlier, the difference in how I (Gen Z) and my dad (baby boomer) choose to retrieve information is extremely different and these three consequences of the Digital Era impact us in different ways. 

It is undeniable that generations differ in their ability to navigate and use the online world. According to Forbes, one in three internet users worldwide is a child and a recent study concluded that baby boomers are more likely to share fake news links on social media than Generation Z. It is no doubt that a lot of clickbait and fake stories come from social media platforms and that is where most of Gen Z consumes their news. However, this generation is better at spotting the fake content that encompasses the Internet.

"Gen Z's online experience with social media could be what makes them more likely to spot the difference between credible sources and fake news."

Unfortunately, misinformation isn't just going to go away with the next generation, but Internet users can practice spotting fake news. Media companies have a responsibility to stop the spread of misinformation through quality control and users can apply research and credible sources to their findings to eliminate false news. 

Consider the consequences of the digital age and how they are affecting your ability to recognize fake news and obtain accurate information. By working to stop the dissemination of misleading content, we can all help to change the Misinformation Age.

References:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2009.00317.x

https://www.voanews.com/a/student-union_generation-z-beats-boomers-spotting-fake-news/6195920.html

https://www.axios.com/2020/09/15/gen-z-is-eroding-the-power-of-misinformation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb1ivrq1m8c

https://www.personio.com/blog/attention-fragmentation-micro-delays/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7856149/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1012532

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1920498117

https://medium.com/@goboldfish/information-overload-in-our-digital-age-90cbe93bb530

https://news.usc.edu/179176/how-to-help-stop-fake-news-misinformation-usc-experts/