Every morning, we wake up, open our phones and our fingers take us automatically to Instagram. The scrolling begins. Dogs acting funny. Bloopers. Sketches. Resisting an algorithm created to keep you ‘doomscrolling’ takes a lot of effort. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of information.

Now, let’s combine this information overload with the short attention span our generation has developed. Imagine you take the time to watch an entire news video on Instagram. By the end of the video you feel educated and informed about global affairs. ‘Wow, AI can copy people and turn them into millions of robots by 2030!’

Or did you think: ‘Is this true?’.

It’s the kind of question you might ask if a friend told you this story during lunch. Yet, when we see this online, we often accept it without hesitation. We blindly trust what we consume on the internet because it is the easy way out, it requires the least effort. Scrolling on Instagram feels like a break from the fast-paced chaos around us, a chance to switch off. But what if being on ‘off’ puts us at risk?

Alright, that is a bit dramatic. But think about it. Knowledge is power.

I want to ask you something. Be honest. When was the last time you actively searched for an investigative article about the war on Gaza? Or when did you last check for updates on the decisions of the new American president, Trump?

Did you ever?

It’s hard to think critically when everything is handed to you on a silver platter.

We have ‘developed’ so much. We have never had more access to information and resources than we have ever had before. And still, we don’t use it? We are lazy!

The thing is, there is no direct consequence for being lazy on social media. We don’t mind that our data is being used when we click ‘accept cookies’. We don’t care that the Chinese government is collecting our information through TikTok. As long as we can watch our funny cat videos, we’ll keep clicking ‘accept policy’.

We don’t care anymore. The urge to search for the truth has faded. Between all the entertainment – what we’re actually on Instagram for – information is being handed to us in a format that is easy to digest. Why make it any harder than it needs to be?

There is no consequence for not being critical, at least none that we can see or feel right now. But at this very moment, countless powerful people are collecting our data. Information we wouldn’t willingly share with our own government if they asked for it. But since we don’t see or feel it…

We take the easy way out, choosing an entertaining doomscroll moment over an educational article at any time. Does that sound like a ‘developed’ society?

Maybe next time, try fact-checking before Elon Musk feeds you any more of his lies!

Text: Ann-Sophie Oomen
Photo: © Ron Lach via Pexel