In a time when we’re being bombarded with facts, statistics and quotes, it has become harder than ever to know what to think. The fast pace of the modern day is leaving out more and more information for the sake of easy likes and promoting agendas.

During lockdown I took about three months off social media and, to absolutely nobody’s surprise, I realised the true extent of how toxic social media has become and it’s as much to do with what you don’t see as it is with what you do see. It isn’t news to anyone that in the modern day it’s incredibly easy to only show people what you want them to see. And I’m not just talking about those perfectly edited, posed and cherry-picked photos that we see on Instagram. I’m talking about how dangerously easy it has become to spread a political agenda through information that is equally as cherry-picked and lacking in context as the photos on an ‘influencer’s’ Instagram page.

The last year has been a whirlwind of big events and everyone seems to have an opinion. From the divisive December Election to the coronavirus pandemic to the reignition of the Black Lives Matter movement all over the World. Many of the facts, figures and advice regarding these matters that have saturated social media demand to be shared. In fact, demand to be agreed with in many cases. And since many of us want to be seen doing the right thing, we do just that. Don’t get me wrong, much of the information that has been shared has been informative and a force for good. However, the rate at which this information gets shared means it’s difficult to distinguish between useful information and personal agenda. Phone screens are small and character limits as well as image sizes mean that the reasons behind something are frequently left out.

Properly researching and understanding the basis of your point of view is something that should span the political spectrum.

The purpose of this article is not to get political. Properly researching and understanding the basis of your point of view is something that should span the political spectrum. This is especially important when explaining your opinions to others. An example of this that gets thrown around a lot in feminist debates is the gender pay gap. No matter where you stand on this, it is absolutely crucial that the reasons why it exists are explained. Someone seeing a social media post that simply states a woman earns approximately 83p for every £1 a man earns for the first time would think that was absolutely terrible and would perhaps not think to direct their frustration towards the root causes of this issue. It may even lead women to limit themselves because they believe they will always be at a disadvantage when this isn’t always the case. The same logic would apply to anti-vaxxers with the claim that vaccines cause autism. The information they have consumed that has led them to this belief has potentially left out the benefits of vaccines and the importance of herd immunity. As a result, such people are putting themselves at risk of becoming unwell and infecting other people. Perhaps what is worse, is that they share these opinions and so the number of people blindly believing things without seeing the context begins to dangerously mount.

Why preface this with a quote from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’? Well, having studied English Literature at A Level and thus having analysed the book to within an inch of its life, it became more than just a work of fiction and made me really understand how not everything is always as it seems. In general, most things aren’t. Atwood’s work is absolutely brimming with historical context and background, thus encouraging the reader to be more critical of the world around them. Or, to put it more simply ‘don’t believe everything you see on the internet’.

In short, research is the key to a fully informed opinion. You may be thinking that you already do this, which many of us do and that’s great but unfortunately many people don’t want to spend their time doing this. So, whilst you may share a short quote or statistic and know the context that lies behind it, your audience may not. We can still share our opinions but instead of omitting context to force them down the throats of our friends and followers, it would be more powerful to acknowledge our own bias and encourage them to do their own research.