True or False

Much has been written about information that is available these days, and even more about how the development of technology and in particular the internet, has increased the stream of information at our disposal. Information comes to us in so many different ways that it is hard to keep up with.. or is it? Studies have shown that younger generations' brains are actually becoming wired in a different way (read the excellent blog by Sander Duivestijn "the third eye" on Frankwatching for those of you in the Netherlands) so that they can scan information in a quicker and more selective way then the older generation can.

But my blog today is not so much about the ability to handle the information that comes to us from a scientific perspective. I was pondering this morning just how you cope with information in an intellectual way. Over the last years, the way people view information and choose what to read has changed quite drastically. No longer do we necessarily read the newspaper or branch specific magazines to gather the info we are looking for to keep up to date. This leads to heavy discussions amongst publishing firms about how to monetize their content. Now that people can find info for free on the internet there is less of a willingness to pay for the information gathered for you by a source such as the newspapers. But I think it goes much deeper then that. The issue is not just that because the info is free on the internet - you don't want to pay for papers. It's more about who you TRUST. Instead of trusting the authorities, which were the publishing companies, the tv channels or the government (often feeding the media) - you trust your own friends and contacts. And since they publish tons of stuff via blogs and posts in fora, you can easily find out what they think on any topic.  So information gathering happens at the level of two friends talking... the "here's a link you'll like" sharing has replaced the "Have you heard..." whispering in the corridor.

The problem with this type of information sharing is not the fact that it provides you with a lot of snippets of info you have to read. The real issue is that you as an individual are now responsible for gathering, and analysing that data. I often have discussions where I hear someone repeating something that someone has sent them - which is clearly based on fantasy rather then fact. And it makes me wonder about the validity of our information sharing. Too many people blindly believe the info that they read, which is a left-over from trusting anything that is in the written word, or what the newspapers told us. The difference being that the newspaper, whatever their political slant may be, would have researched the story thoroughly before publishing it.... does your friend do that? Or their friend? No - they simply pick up info and resend it to whomever wants to hear. And that leads to beliefs in "facts" that are utterly biased and often non-factual.

I am sure that our brains, as we evolve, will adapt and stop believing everything we hear or read sent to us by "trusted" sources. We might develop a more powerful filter for true/false. In the meantime, I would strongly recommend that we all put our most critical thinking caps on whenever we gather info, read endless fora and blogs and listen to what friends sent us... gather your own facts, be your own journalist and don't belief everything you hear. It'll help you with finding those real gems of info in the pile of e-info in your cloud.

Marion

1 Comments

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• Bill Evans | Dec 11, 2009 02:59 PM

  Many of us who rely on diverse information and varing quantities of it to earn a living struggle with what is fact and what is fiction. Clearly, as you wrote, we cannot rely on our friends for accurate information. As they are as gulible or more so than I am. I personally have restricted what I read, that pours into my computer, to information that I have requested. Unsolicited does not get read. I have friends and colleagues that I communicate with daily or very frequently and we all have agreed that we pass on what we have investigated to be accurate or that which we wish to pass comment on. Or for a laugh.
  
  I have trusted sources of news and background information, actually print media, that I have learned to trust or at least I know when they are out of their league in writing about. I certainly don't rely on free advice or blogs for anything that would impact my business or personal well being.
  
  Bill

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