Social Media Effects on Critical Thinking
The emergence of social media and the reliance on various platforms is increasingly impacting the way in which we interact with each other and the world as a whole. Bearing in mind that algorithms configured in these platforms, influences our decision making.
We know that our virtual network is oftentimes as important to us as our physical network and that the information we digest online is significantly influential, but is social media affecting our critical thinking skills? The answer is, yes.
As you can imagine, critical thinking skills require time and mental investment. However, according to research conducted by Stanford University, social media may diminish the amount of mental capacity we spend on any one given problem or task. This is because frequent use of social media tends to interfere with daily interactions, forcing the user to try and split attention between two or more things at a time. This split attention leads to less effective concentration on each given thing, perhaps impacting critical thinking skills negatively.
In addition to the negative impacts of multi-tasking, social media tends to prey on emotion rather than reason. You can thank the algorithms behind your preferred platform for this, as these algorithms deliberately put information in front of you that is targeted to your interest and leanings in any easily digestible format. By seeing information that you already tend to agree with or favor more often than you see information that counters your beliefs, you are being denied the ability to gather all information, analyze appropriately, and come to a more well-informed conclusion.
In other words, you stop questioning. And when you stop questioning, you stop thinking critically.
The most susceptible to the cognitive and behavioral downfalls of social media use are youth and young adults because they are at an age when their emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills are still immature.
The young are particularly reliant on the positive feedback received through social media, which makes them less likely to be critical of information presented, as they do not want to appear like they are rocking the boat or going against their friends.
The case can be made that peer pressure and bullying are only exacerbated because of social media, which allows for a fear culture to grow in this space that makes sharing one’s opinions a risky move. After all, much of one’s social media presence is built upon being liked, and it would be unpopular to voice any divergent opinions.
Although the younger population is more susceptible to conforming to popular opinions, a 2019 Science Advances study showed that older people, those 65 years old and older, are four times more likely to spread misinformation on social media. Thus, proving that a failure to employ critical thinking skills when using social media is not isolated to the younger population. It is a problem shared by many.
We know that our virtual network is oftentimes as important to us as our physical network and that the information we digest online is significantly influential, but is social media affecting our critical thinking skills? The answer is, yes.
As you can imagine, critical thinking skills require time and mental investment. However, according to research conducted by Stanford University, social media may diminish the amount of mental capacity we spend on any one given problem or task. This is because frequent use of social media tends to interfere with daily interactions, forcing the user to try and split attention between two or more things at a time. This split attention leads to less effective concentration on each given thing, perhaps impacting critical thinking skills negatively.
In addition to the negative impacts of multi-tasking, social media tends to prey on emotion rather than reason. You can thank the algorithms behind your preferred platform for this, as these algorithms deliberately put information in front of you that is targeted to your interest and leanings in any easily digestible format. By seeing information that you already tend to agree with or favor more often than you see information that counters your beliefs, you are being denied the ability to gather all information, analyze appropriately, and come to a more well-informed conclusion.
In other words, you stop questioning. And when you stop questioning, you stop thinking critically.
The most susceptible to the cognitive and behavioral downfalls of social media use are youth and young adults because they are at an age when their emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills are still immature.
The young are particularly reliant on the positive feedback received through social media, which makes them less likely to be critical of information presented, as they do not want to appear like they are rocking the boat or going against their friends.
The case can be made that peer pressure and bullying are only exacerbated because of social media, which allows for a fear culture to grow in this space that makes sharing one’s opinions a risky move. After all, much of one’s social media presence is built upon being liked, and it would be unpopular to voice any divergent opinions.
Although the younger population is more susceptible to conforming to popular opinions, a 2019 Science Advances study showed that older people, those 65 years old and older, are four times more likely to spread misinformation on social media. Thus, proving that a failure to employ critical thinking skills when using social media is not isolated to the younger population. It is a problem shared by many.
The upside to social media.
In contrast to some of the evidence that social media only harms critical thinking skills, social media, when used right, can be a powerful tool in one’s critical thinking skills.
With the wealth of information available and competing interests displayed on social media, these platforms can be a resource in developing the ability to scrutinize information and source additional facts to come to more well-informed decisions or more effective solutions to problems.
In order to do this, one needs to be resistant to accepting the first piece of information as the truth before having a chance to validate that information.
What can you do to strengthen your critical thinking skills on social media?
It may be an odd characteristic to cultivate, but skepticism will be your best friend when trying to strengthen your critical thinking skills on social media. And while you are practicing skepticism, there are a few things that you can do on social media today to help you get started:
Look for credentials or other forms of credibility: One way in which you can tell if you are digesting a credible piece of information is to look at the source of that information. Does that person have credentials or other forms of credibility that lend to the validity of the information? If not, be skeptical, and do your own research.
Examine the sources: If you are reading an article or blog post that you were directed to by social media, search the page for source links. If the information being presented is credible, the article or blog post will contain links to sources for that information. Better than just scanning for links to sources, you should actually click on those links to see what the sources are. Sources such as national or local newspapers, universities, and government agencies are dependable.
Check your biases: We all have them, and taking a moment to check your biases when consuming information can go a long way in keeping your critical thinking skills sharp.
In a time when information is king and social media is a big player in spreading that information, it is essential to remain vigilant to the information we are taking in. Questioning what is presented as fact and utilizing the amazing tool that is the web to develop well-informed opinions is the key to honing your critical thinking skills on social media.
So now that we know what critical thinking is, how can we practice it and get better at it?
In contrast to some of the evidence that social media only harms critical thinking skills, social media, when used right, can be a powerful tool in one’s critical thinking skills.
With the wealth of information available and competing interests displayed on social media, these platforms can be a resource in developing the ability to scrutinize information and source additional facts to come to more well-informed decisions or more effective solutions to problems.
In order to do this, one needs to be resistant to accepting the first piece of information as the truth before having a chance to validate that information.
What can you do to strengthen your critical thinking skills on social media?
It may be an odd characteristic to cultivate, but skepticism will be your best friend when trying to strengthen your critical thinking skills on social media. And while you are practicing skepticism, there are a few things that you can do on social media today to help you get started:
Look for credentials or other forms of credibility: One way in which you can tell if you are digesting a credible piece of information is to look at the source of that information. Does that person have credentials or other forms of credibility that lend to the validity of the information? If not, be skeptical, and do your own research.
Examine the sources: If you are reading an article or blog post that you were directed to by social media, search the page for source links. If the information being presented is credible, the article or blog post will contain links to sources for that information. Better than just scanning for links to sources, you should actually click on those links to see what the sources are. Sources such as national or local newspapers, universities, and government agencies are dependable.
Check your biases: We all have them, and taking a moment to check your biases when consuming information can go a long way in keeping your critical thinking skills sharp.
In a time when information is king and social media is a big player in spreading that information, it is essential to remain vigilant to the information we are taking in. Questioning what is presented as fact and utilizing the amazing tool that is the web to develop well-informed opinions is the key to honing your critical thinking skills on social media.
So now that we know what critical thinking is, how can we practice it and get better at it?
How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills
The way you think will directly affect your decision-making process, which will have an impact on the direction you are in and the results you are getting in life. Here are some of the steps needed to develop critical thinking:
Value objective reality.
Learn to appreciate the reality as it is, not as you would prefer it to be. This doesn’t mean being overly negative or critical, it just means being open to facts that might be contrary to our current beliefs or contrary to our preferences.
Keep an open mind.
Being open-minded doesn’t mean not having any opinions of your own and being ready to embrace all of them. Rather it means being truly open to listening or in any other way being exposed to different views, knowing that you can always decide whether to embrace them or not. It means that instead of jumping to agree or disagree with something, you take the time to listen/observe it without judgment first and make decisions about it later.
Do not tolerate ongoing and unproductive ambiguity.
Ambiguity and uncertainty are inalienable elements of life, but it’s possible to gradually lessen the ambiguity by having clear thinking skills and hence the ability to navigate the ambiguity and move towards internal clarity regardless of the level of external ambiguity.
Avoid the bandwagon (avoid a current or fashionable trend).
Believing, doing or embracing something just because everyone else is doing it has been proven to bring at worst disastrous results and best mediocre ones. Critical thinking ensures that you are making your own decisions, that you have thought it through for yourself, and are able to give a logical explanation for your beliefs, decisions and actions.
Distinguish between observation and inference, between established facts and conjectures that follow. In other words be able to differentiate between what really happened, and the interpretations and opinions that people (or we) have formed about what happened. Don’t accept as truth anyone’s interpretation of reality, not even your own. Accept that it is one of the many possible interpretations/meanings.
Withhold judgment until you are sure you have adequate information. Remember that there is always two sides of a story. Gathering all the facts before jumping to conclusions can seem like a lot of tiresome work, but in the end it will save you time and most of all save you from potential mistakes and wrong decisions. If you have no choice but to make conclusions, then you have the option of presenting your conclusions and allowing them to be rectified if necessary before moving forward with them.
Maintain a sense of humor. Stress, tension and fear instigate the fight or flight response. The fight or flight response can save you from a dangerous animal, but it completely blocks your ability to think critically. Whereas if you maintain an easygoing and relaxed state most of the time, your mind can much more easily process information and make better decisions.
Cultivate intellectual curiosity. The more you learn and understand, the more options you have for thinking and making decisions. If being curious and enjoying learning about new things is already a habit, then critical thinking will come much more naturally to you.
Don’t take things at face value. Be aware of the kind of information that is entering your mind, the beliefs and/or agenda of the source, and make sure that you are really the one deciding what you believe and what you do. Many messages from advertising and main stream media could be created to go directly to your subconscious mind and can directly influence your behavior. However, when you are aware of this you can control its influence rather than letting it control you.
Challenge conventional wisdom. Challenging what is already accepted as truth can be difficult, because doing so can cause you to stand out from the crowd and that can be an uncomfortable position to be in. However, it is necessary to be in this position at times and to cut through what is currently accepted as normal and get to what is true.
Resist appeals to emotion. This doesn’t mean resist emotion, rather it means to resist when someone is intentionally trying to influence your emotions in order to influence your behavior. There is a difference between what you naturally feel (this can help you in decision making) and what someone else might be intentionally making you feel in order to fulfill their own agenda. Be weary of manipulation.
Do not automatically accept authority. Unfortunately, especially in today’s world, being in a position of authority says nothing about someone’s character, integrity, or whether or not they have your best interests in mind. Learn to look beyond someone’s title or position and decide for yourself whether to believe them/follow their lead, as they may have a hidden agenda.
Beware others’ ego pleasing behavior. While the desire for appreciation and compliments is universal, it is important not to fall for others’ attempts to use this need to influence our behavior. Is the compliment specific? Is it logical? Is it spontaneous, or does it feel “planted” there for effect? Is the person giving the compliment generally sincere, or do they have manipulative tendencies?
Be aware of your own ego enhancing behavior. We have to think critically about ourselves too and the reasons for our decisions and actions. When left to the unconscious, the ego can lead us to choices that preserve itself but result in an actual loss for us.
Maintain a sense of perspective. We can sometimes feel that the situation we are in is bigger than it actually is, and if we are too intense about it we can make decisions that are more extreme than necessary. It’s helpful to take a step back, get ourselves into a calm state, and then look at the situation again before making any decisions. Getting the perspective of someone we trust but who is not directly embroiled in the situation can also help.
Be aware of nonverbal behavior clues. Think of communication as a complete package that includes words, gestures, posture, facial expressions, tone of voice and all of the other elements that people are consciously or subconsciously transmitting to us. Learn to interpret the information as a whole, not just based on one element (just the words or just the gestures) and you will be able to come to more accurate conclusions. When possible, check your conclusions with the person to see if they are accurate.
When under pressure, stop and think. It is very rare that you actually have to make a snap decision about something important, as rare as being chased by a hungry wild animal. If we are feeling this way it is usually due to over-exerted external or internal pressure, and it helps to get away from that pressure for a moment to look at the big picture and make our decision calmly. You can get in the habit of saying “I need to check with my business partner/spouse/colleagues and get back to you in an hour/day/week etc.” It is always easier to make a good decision in the beginning then to be left cleaning up the mess made by a bad one.
Look for consistency. This is one of the most important considerations in critical thinking: different ideas and beliefs are abundant and may clash with ours. But whatever the logic is, it should be consistent within itself. If someone is always changing their opinions and values to suit the situation, it is unlikely that they can be trusted. The same applies to organizations, companies or institutions.
Practice empathy. Empathy is necessary because we can’t really listen to someone if everything that they are saying is being filtered through preconceived notions and prejudices. If we can stop our own mind for a moment and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, then we have a chance at seeing the reality from their perspective and thereby broadening our own.
Heed your intuition. Never ignore your feelings and your intuition. If you don’t feel right about something, it’s probably not right for you even if everything you have read and heard points in the opposite direction. On the other hand, if your genuine feeling is that something is right, but everyone around you is telling you it’s not, always listen to yourself first and foremost. Learn to differentiate between a momentary feeling and a deep one coming from your intuition, which is why giving it time helps to see if you felt a certain way at the moment or if it is a feeling that is staying with you. An intense feeling of anger or exhilaration might not be the best basis for decision making, but a constant nudging from your soul to go or not go in a certain direction will be. And the more you practice heeding your intuition, the more clear and understandable it becomes.
The way you think will directly affect your decision-making process, which will have an impact on the direction you are in and the results you are getting in life. Here are some of the steps needed to develop critical thinking:
Value objective reality.
Learn to appreciate the reality as it is, not as you would prefer it to be. This doesn’t mean being overly negative or critical, it just means being open to facts that might be contrary to our current beliefs or contrary to our preferences.
Keep an open mind.
Being open-minded doesn’t mean not having any opinions of your own and being ready to embrace all of them. Rather it means being truly open to listening or in any other way being exposed to different views, knowing that you can always decide whether to embrace them or not. It means that instead of jumping to agree or disagree with something, you take the time to listen/observe it without judgment first and make decisions about it later.
Do not tolerate ongoing and unproductive ambiguity.
Ambiguity and uncertainty are inalienable elements of life, but it’s possible to gradually lessen the ambiguity by having clear thinking skills and hence the ability to navigate the ambiguity and move towards internal clarity regardless of the level of external ambiguity.
Avoid the bandwagon (avoid a current or fashionable trend).
Believing, doing or embracing something just because everyone else is doing it has been proven to bring at worst disastrous results and best mediocre ones. Critical thinking ensures that you are making your own decisions, that you have thought it through for yourself, and are able to give a logical explanation for your beliefs, decisions and actions.
Distinguish between observation and inference, between established facts and conjectures that follow. In other words be able to differentiate between what really happened, and the interpretations and opinions that people (or we) have formed about what happened. Don’t accept as truth anyone’s interpretation of reality, not even your own. Accept that it is one of the many possible interpretations/meanings.
Withhold judgment until you are sure you have adequate information. Remember that there is always two sides of a story. Gathering all the facts before jumping to conclusions can seem like a lot of tiresome work, but in the end it will save you time and most of all save you from potential mistakes and wrong decisions. If you have no choice but to make conclusions, then you have the option of presenting your conclusions and allowing them to be rectified if necessary before moving forward with them.
Maintain a sense of humor. Stress, tension and fear instigate the fight or flight response. The fight or flight response can save you from a dangerous animal, but it completely blocks your ability to think critically. Whereas if you maintain an easygoing and relaxed state most of the time, your mind can much more easily process information and make better decisions.
Cultivate intellectual curiosity. The more you learn and understand, the more options you have for thinking and making decisions. If being curious and enjoying learning about new things is already a habit, then critical thinking will come much more naturally to you.
Don’t take things at face value. Be aware of the kind of information that is entering your mind, the beliefs and/or agenda of the source, and make sure that you are really the one deciding what you believe and what you do. Many messages from advertising and main stream media could be created to go directly to your subconscious mind and can directly influence your behavior. However, when you are aware of this you can control its influence rather than letting it control you.
Challenge conventional wisdom. Challenging what is already accepted as truth can be difficult, because doing so can cause you to stand out from the crowd and that can be an uncomfortable position to be in. However, it is necessary to be in this position at times and to cut through what is currently accepted as normal and get to what is true.
Resist appeals to emotion. This doesn’t mean resist emotion, rather it means to resist when someone is intentionally trying to influence your emotions in order to influence your behavior. There is a difference between what you naturally feel (this can help you in decision making) and what someone else might be intentionally making you feel in order to fulfill their own agenda. Be weary of manipulation.
Do not automatically accept authority. Unfortunately, especially in today’s world, being in a position of authority says nothing about someone’s character, integrity, or whether or not they have your best interests in mind. Learn to look beyond someone’s title or position and decide for yourself whether to believe them/follow their lead, as they may have a hidden agenda.
Beware others’ ego pleasing behavior. While the desire for appreciation and compliments is universal, it is important not to fall for others’ attempts to use this need to influence our behavior. Is the compliment specific? Is it logical? Is it spontaneous, or does it feel “planted” there for effect? Is the person giving the compliment generally sincere, or do they have manipulative tendencies?
Be aware of your own ego enhancing behavior. We have to think critically about ourselves too and the reasons for our decisions and actions. When left to the unconscious, the ego can lead us to choices that preserve itself but result in an actual loss for us.
Maintain a sense of perspective. We can sometimes feel that the situation we are in is bigger than it actually is, and if we are too intense about it we can make decisions that are more extreme than necessary. It’s helpful to take a step back, get ourselves into a calm state, and then look at the situation again before making any decisions. Getting the perspective of someone we trust but who is not directly embroiled in the situation can also help.
Be aware of nonverbal behavior clues. Think of communication as a complete package that includes words, gestures, posture, facial expressions, tone of voice and all of the other elements that people are consciously or subconsciously transmitting to us. Learn to interpret the information as a whole, not just based on one element (just the words or just the gestures) and you will be able to come to more accurate conclusions. When possible, check your conclusions with the person to see if they are accurate.
When under pressure, stop and think. It is very rare that you actually have to make a snap decision about something important, as rare as being chased by a hungry wild animal. If we are feeling this way it is usually due to over-exerted external or internal pressure, and it helps to get away from that pressure for a moment to look at the big picture and make our decision calmly. You can get in the habit of saying “I need to check with my business partner/spouse/colleagues and get back to you in an hour/day/week etc.” It is always easier to make a good decision in the beginning then to be left cleaning up the mess made by a bad one.
Look for consistency. This is one of the most important considerations in critical thinking: different ideas and beliefs are abundant and may clash with ours. But whatever the logic is, it should be consistent within itself. If someone is always changing their opinions and values to suit the situation, it is unlikely that they can be trusted. The same applies to organizations, companies or institutions.
Practice empathy. Empathy is necessary because we can’t really listen to someone if everything that they are saying is being filtered through preconceived notions and prejudices. If we can stop our own mind for a moment and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, then we have a chance at seeing the reality from their perspective and thereby broadening our own.
Heed your intuition. Never ignore your feelings and your intuition. If you don’t feel right about something, it’s probably not right for you even if everything you have read and heard points in the opposite direction. On the other hand, if your genuine feeling is that something is right, but everyone around you is telling you it’s not, always listen to yourself first and foremost. Learn to differentiate between a momentary feeling and a deep one coming from your intuition, which is why giving it time helps to see if you felt a certain way at the moment or if it is a feeling that is staying with you. An intense feeling of anger or exhilaration might not be the best basis for decision making, but a constant nudging from your soul to go or not go in a certain direction will be. And the more you practice heeding your intuition, the more clear and understandable it becomes.