People are becoming more opinionated but also much more stupid. Something has to shift!

The internet has made people pretty opinionated. It is easy to read something online, believe it, share it and comment on it. All this, without much research. Everybody has an opinion on everything these days and nobody is scared to share their opinions.

 But - people are also sharing silly things, stupid things, and are no longer recognizing the truth. We need to look at why this has happened. Scientists Steven Sloman and Phillip Fernbach have written a book called ‘The Knowledge Illusion’ and their insight is pretty fascinating.

They highlight the fact that a little bit of knowledge makes us feel like experts and encourages us to talk like experts. Even when we don't have facts to back up our so-called ‘knowledge.’ So is it the internet that is making us so sure of ourselves while also making us so stupid? We think it is. It’s so easy to access information online without thinking about whether it is real or fake.

It is so easy to read something online and without thought or consideration, comment and have a strong opinion. One which you probably wouldn’t have it in a lecture hall, or during a one-on-one conversation. Sloman and Fernbach think that the internet blinds us to our own (lack) of knowledge.

We think we are well informed but we are reading in such small parameters and are actually blind to our own ignorance. We think we know things when actually, we do not know much at all. Of course, these are huge generalizations and many people who spend a lot of time online are super bright.

But these are also people who read tons of books, constantly educate themselves and listen carefully to many sides of a debate, argument or discussion. Next time you say something online, think before you comment. Think about how much you actually know and whether you are informed enough to give your opinion. Read, research and perhaps even spend some time offline.