Internet Epistemology

The Enlightenment inspired us to ask ourselves how we know what we know, an ideology that we sometimes sweep under the rug. A change that is necessary, particularly in our internet age, is asking ourselves where we learned what we know.

The advent of mass media facilitated unearned credibility. It began with the printing press and has found its new home on the web–particularly in the blogosphere. I am not arguing that these sources should always be ignored, but the effulgence of the knowledge of those authors caught in the throws of their own passions is lost. Their watchers, readers, subscribers often only pass on base, emotional rhetoric.


Beyond this, information cherry-picking is easier than ever. Demassification of mass media has created niches in which validation for any worldview, opinion, or "best family recipe" is not only available, but readily accessible.

I understand confirmation bias has been and will continue to be an integral piece of individual development. However, moving forward with more information more accessible than ever, we must train ourselves to be vigilant in the media that we consume, particularly when it is more driven my emotion than reason. A professor recently relayed a caution about searching for news media, "if there is more heat than light, it is useless."

The next time you hear or are tempted to say, "I read in an article that..." remember that Facebook friend who authors a popular blog. We must fundamentally change what we consider credible, or at the very least take more grains of salt rather than spoonfuls of sugar with our information.