Remember those dreaded research papers we all had to do in school? You know, the ones that had you scrambling through library stacks, highlighter in hand, only to find that someone already checked out the one book you needed? And let’s not forget the strict “no encyclopedias” rule our teachers drilled into us like it was the First Commandment of Academia. An encyclopedia? Pfft. Too basic! Try submitting that and watch your teacher’s eyes glaze over as she hands you a big red “C-minus.”
Fast forward to today, and now people are out here citing what Chad said on Twitter and calling it a day. Or worse, quoting “Karen from my Facebook group” like she’s an expert on everything from vaccines to how to install a ceiling fan. Fun fact: she’s not. This is like showing up to your debate class, waving around a tabloid headline, and expecting everyone to just nod along. Nope.
The thing is, those old-school research lessons were like intellectual CrossFit. Painful, yes, but designed to keep us from becoming easily-duped meat sacks with Wi-Fi. We learned how to spot credible sources, which nowadays feels like a superpower when the internet is overflowing with half-baked “facts,” memes claiming “the truth,” and more conspiracy theories than you can shake a tinfoil hat at. By the way, actual fake news isn’t just something you don’t like hearing. Real fake news is like trying to sell you on the idea that birds aren’t real, but rather government drones sent to spy on us. (Spoiler: Birds are real. I’ve seen one. Up close. It pooped on my car.)
And don’t even get me started on the bonkers stuff floating around online now. Ever heard the one about how 5G towers are controlling your mind? Or that the moon landing was faked on a Hollywood soundstage, probably by Kubrick, because hey, why not make it extra weird? I’ve seen less crazy stuff in a sci-fi movie marathon.
It’s become painfully obvious that humanity wasn’t ready for the internet. We got handed this shiny, powerful tool and instead of using it to, I don’t know, solve world hunger or at least master the art of cat memes, we’ve let it mutate into a wild jungle of misinformation. And if we don’t start getting better at sniffing out what’s real and what’s just Chad’s half-baked hot take, civilization as we know it might just faceplant into the abyss.
So yeah, time to brush up on those critical thinking skills, folks. Because if we keep going at this rate, our collective IQ might just hit rock bottom before you can say, “Did you hear what Karen posted today?”
