I've heard a number of people and studies indicate that social networking is hurting our ability to connect, etc. I have never argued any of these claims. However, I have been willing to share how in MY life, social networking has been a wonderful addition to my life. I enjoy Facebook and an email forum that I'm on. I have made internet friends that have become friends in real life. I have internet friends that may not give me hugs but through their words I am encouraged and strengthened.
We hear about how may photos are taken every day and how that makes all of photographic history pale in comparison. I myself love my digital photographs and video. I'm big on photos to remember, but there is a huge chunk of my life that just doesn't exist on film.
The ability to take technical courses or watch a YouTube video that shows us how to fix our classic motorcycle is amazing.
But, is there a too much information in our information age? I'm beginning to think so. No, I don't own any paper maps anymore. But, I can still read and navigate by them if I need to. I proof read less and trust spell-checkers more. But, I'm talking about how easy it is for us to put an "informative" article out there or create a "watch dog" group. This can be done with no accountability, and bias taking precedence over data. I recently read an article that called a certain faith based group a "hate group" and identified a another web site as the source. But, who sets up these web sites and what criteria are they using? Then today I read an article offering "scientific" evidence to support parenting advice. At least from the information given in the article, there was nothing scientific about the study they were referencing. To make matters worse, to article made sweeping conjectures that simply were not remotely supported by the data given.
What makes this so troubling is the increasing prevalence of questionable information and more importantly the way we "Like" and "Share" it without critically assessing what we are reading. If I'm honest, I share precious little in the way of articles on Facebook for one simple reason. I won't share it unless I can either speak to the subject with my own expertise or I am willing to take the time to fact check on my own. (And no, Snopes doesn't count.)
Let's find a way to go back to critical thinking. Let's go back to understanding that just because you read it on the internet, it doesn't make it true.