I empathize with you if you’re frightened, stressed, and confused about who and what to listen to anymore. There are myriads of opinions from experts steering you in their direction of the “Truth” about any given topic.
Ten plus years ago, we were not so used to surrounded by this much information.
Socials media in early-stage primarily focused on personal updates, pictures, and events. However, now all social feeds are becoming a mix of personal updates and news stories.
With the advances in personalization powered by Machine Learning and AI, we’re experiencing hyper-personalization. Based on your previous interaction, AI started to predict “What you might like” in the future.
Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
This type of Algorithm did wonders in the eCommerce space, especially on Amazon; you bought a TV, you may get a TV stand recommendation, or even better, you get a suggestion for a TV stand or bookshelf that matches the TV size.
There is no apparent harm showing products you might like, but this gets alarming when the same Algorithm applies to the information and news we consume.
As Algorithm gets better, it becomes an echo chamber for the information. And more you “like” particular type of information, the Algorithm is programmed to give you more of the same.
I do not blame any social media platform for this information overload and hyper-personalization. My personal preference is not to use these platforms as a source of information, knowing that bad actors can use the platform to feed their narrative and propaganda.
So what now? How do you find the “real” information anymore? Or at least find an opposing opinion about the same information and draw your conclusions.
Here are some of the things I applied in my life to be helpful to navigate information overload.
Seek information, not consume.
A straightforward way to do this is to go to multiple places to get information, type in the address of websites you like. Stop trying to get information from your social media feed or a single news website. It is not some conspiracy, but Algorithm is working as expected. Bookmark sources you trust and like and go there to seek information.
Seek opposing & broader views
Let’s suppose there is a big event that occurred, which might have a significant social or financial impact, go to both cnn.com and foxnews.com to read their take on it. Both may have coverage of the same event from their viewpoint. Truth is always somewhere in the middle. In addition to this, always visit nonbias sites like www.apnews.com or www.reuters.com to read their take of the events.
Follow people you trust
Many people on the internet are full of wisdom, and their opinions on current events can be relevant. Again, it is important to follow people with different views. Seek journalists and commentators who are independent and write for various publications.
Be skeptical
Even the people you follow, be suspicious of their views, understand that everyone has biases based on their own experience and motives. They also have biases or blind spots about stuff they’re involved in. If an author is employed full time by a newspaper, more than likely, he/she will build on the narrative that the publication is building. Very rarely, you’ll come across a very opposing point of view. Recently, this is more obvious when the New York Times apologize for an op-ed from a US senator.
Read books!
Reading books is one of the best things you can do; I recommend nonfiction books, but even fiction books can give you a framework to consider issues. Read financial and economic books to have an understanding of finance. Read Biographies of successful people to learn about their decision making and learning from their mistakes.
