Member-only story
My grandfather was part of the “wise men” club in his village in Ambo, Ethiopia. Despite having no formal education, people often asked him to be involved in conflict resolution.
These were usually done in a gathering outdoors. After both sides had an opportunity to vent, the wise men would render a decision. My grandfather, usually the oldest person, would capture everyone’s attention by sharing a beautifully crafted story to drive his point.
Those were simpler times.
Fast forward several decades… the internet arrived… and things got complicated…
I remember how excited I was researching about diabetes for the first time. I once had a doctor tell me that he can’t keep up with the latest medical literature. Because of my personal incentive, I likely consumed a lot more information than he would.
It is not access or availability but drive that limits how much content the internet can expose you to.
The introduction of social media is also disrupting how we interact. We have earned the illusion of hundreds of “friends”. And we are more lonely and isolated. We restrict our source of information to people we follow.
As this trend continues, the content we are exposed to will be more emotionally charged and far from an objective truth.
