Submitted 5 hours ago by mdalin@infosec.pub to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
This is probably not an ideal way to be an informed citizen.
You know how starring directly into the sun for too long leads to pain, damage, and blindness? Even just being exposed to it directly for too long can lead to burns, dehydration, and delirium. Best wear sunglasses, move into the shade, avoid spending too much time exposed, and drink more water.
This has been a metaphor, thanks for reading!
This is… painfully… accurate. Well done!!
Ha, you felt this so strongly that you reported it for being “painfully accurate”.
That’s ok because 59% of people who share an article don’t read it either.
Looks like that article is based on a single study from 2016. Not saying it’s not applicable, but these days the number could be much lower or (more likely) much higher. I’m also not sure the echo chamber effect is related to this, as you can just as easily say people will read what they already agree with (especially since it’s a time investment) and that leads to the same problem.
If everyone is doing the same then you have a better grasp on the popular zeitgeist than any news pundit.
It is ok to skim headlines, but it is a good thing to read a newspaper article in depth, to truly become knowledgeable.
Headlines are written to mislead you. Don’t skim headlines.
trulybecome more knowledgeable.
Newspaper articles and news media in general have biases and editors with agendas. One should read multiple reports and apply critical thinking imo.
It’s a dangerous way to be a human…
Like, you’re coasting on “nothing catastrophic has happened to me yet”
And eventually, you’re gonna get blindsided by something big.
memes about the sun exploding begin appearing on your feed, but you only find them 7 minutes after the sun exploded
Whelp, guess I’ll die.
Sometimes this happens to me as well. Usually when a celebrity does something news worthy that is how I discover it. Or when sports things happen.
I will say though that, while you are probably right that only learning about news through memes is not a good way to be informed, the other extreme (obsessing over every headline) is probably bad too.
As unsolicited advice I’d recommend finding a few long form journalism sources and following them to get a better feel for the news. Doing the over time I have found that i am informed without the hysteria that often comes from 24 hour news cycles.
I used to do the same thing by reading the comics only in the news. I was much happier then.
Well that was back when Ronald McDonald and Ronald Reagan were “butt-buddies”. They hadn’t invented the word “gay” back in the 1960s.
By the 1980s, ol’ Ronnie was giving McDonnie his ecconomics to trickle out of the side of his mouth.
What did you think had happened when Lenny when full beam meme?
Really, your probably still getting plenty of information without all the stress.
coolie4@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
OP, this habit is exactly how old people fall victim to propaganda on facebook.
See funny picture and move on. 3 days later the topic comes up. You’re not sure why, but you feel like whatever thing/person/group is bad. No facts needed, just vibes.
fubbernuckin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 minutes ago
Thank you for pointing this out to me, I’ve been falling into this habit.
loam@sh.itjust.works 26 minutes ago
Agreed. The Qanon message boards even have a pinned thread, instructing users how to warp reality (public perception) with “meme magic”. They create tons of extreme-right memes that end up on Facebook.
finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world 26 minutes ago
Newsvibing?