How much damage can someone’s uninformed opinion make? More than you can imagine, we promise. Stop being dumb on the internet, please!
If someone told you that “snakes have legs,“ would you believe them? This is a satirical internet meme that depicts our society’s online behavior quite accurately. Spreading false information, conspiracy theories, etc. has become normal. Let’s talk about how and why false information spread easily.
Lack of accountability
If you share an article about the Illuminati and secret societies, without previously doing any research and checking whether or not they really exist, you’re not really doing any harm, right? Wrong. People are usually not aware of the consequences of their actions online, and because they don’t know, they feel it “can’t hurt anybody.“ However, spreading misinformation, or even writing a hateful comment, can influence people in various ways, mostly negative. Especially nowadays, when people are hypersensitive to internet content (as the internet became our best friend during the pandemic), we should realize how much power we hold solely by being behind the keyboard.
Lower education = lack of awareness
In a study called Why do people spread false information online? The effects of message and viewer characteristics on the self-reported likelihood of sharing social media disinformation by Tom Buchanan (source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239666), it was found that people with lower levels of education are more likely to spread false information, as well as those who are more conservative. As this study also tested for gender, it was found that males are more likely to spread information they haven’t previously checked than females.
So, in our free and rad spirit, we can conclude – poorly educated, conservative men are the ones who are trolling us online. While looking the painful truth in the eye, we just want to add – Radass men would never! Bros, please, pull yourselves together. We believe in you.
Because we are in the midst of a pandemic, we know how horrible it can be to share half-truths and misleading info. It’s toxic, it can spread confusion and fear. So let’s be more mindful. Snakes do not have legs, okay?
WTR?
Like always, if you have to ask then you weren’t paying attention, but we’re more than willing to clue you in anyway. The reason this is a Radass comment has to do with:
- Education is key to getting by in this world. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, but being educated enough to think for yourself is vital to anyone’s existence.
- The more you know, the better equipped you are to deal with misinformation.
- Education is a tool to use, and like all tools it works best when used properly.
Take this away from this article if you will: Intelligence is good, but wisdom is better.
