Getting Wrong

I was chatting with J recently about the source of information that her generation uses to make important life decisions and how many of them could be dubious and of unverified provenance. Since its an always on culture, the the stream of information is never-ending, there is little opportunity to fact-check.

..although people of all ages are bad at detecting misinformation — which is only getting harder amid the rise of AI — members of Gen Z are particularly vulnerable to being fooled. Why? There’s a dangerous feedback loop at play. Many young people are growing deeply skeptical of institutions and more inclined toward conspiracy theories, which makes them shun mainstream news outlets and immerse themselves in narrow online communities — which then feeds them fabrications based on powerful algorithms and further deepens their distrust. It’s the kind of media consumption that differs drastically from older generations who spend far more time with mainstream media, and the consequences can be grim.

Conspiracy theorists of all ages are particularly at risk in this eco-system. I know elderly ones that are doing just as poorly as their Gen Z counterparts. There is also the problem of conformance with your generation and having a common framework for communication. If a young person decides to eschew all sources of information popular with their generation, they would experience alienation from their peer group. In a time of romantic recession, losing connection with the friend group leaves the person alone with their independent thinking.