It’s the 21st century. Millennials are conditioned to an overwhelming wave of constant stimulation. Colorful advertisements are everywhere, both on and off screen, often accompanied by the rumbling din of overly-loud radio commercials with catchy (read: annoying) jingles discussing the best place to get your car oil checked. Each ad is louder, brighter and more obnoxious than the last, vying for the interest of whatever adolescent these corporate empires may come in contact with for a few seconds of their day.
The necessity of this constant flow of information, as well as the plethora of propaganda we are subjected to on a daily basis, is debatable. With so many random articles, opinions and poorly-researched claims floating around the Internet, it can be hard to do the digging required to get a semblance of whatever truth you may be hunting for.
I find myself falling prey to interesting or eye-catching titles, when, in reality, the information beneath those titles is bland and redundant. Especially on Facebook, advertisements with misleading titles are really just pages of advertisements with the “continue reading” button linking you to another dimension of promotions, posing as “articles.” Virus-infested pages should have your inner Geek Squad member screaming. You have to be self-aware or you could end up sleep-deprived, clicking on stock images of a man looking sad, accompanied by the title, “Husband deployed in Iraq leaves six children and wife, but when you see what he does, you won’t believe your eyes!” and similarly drawn-out hooks.
Granted, this constant flow of data may also have a positive effect on those utilizing the Internet daily. For example, while many of my Facebook friends post poorly-written articles from TheOdysseyOnline.com or Total Sorority Move, I occasionally will skim over an intriguing story, potentially one prominent in the news, and feel the need to research the facts and essence of the story deeper.
With presidential elections coming up, young adults are more likely to share opinions and comment on different online channels. Without consulting the array of analytics, speeches and opinions from and about the candidates, it’s possible the youth will not be as informed as they should be at this critical time. Instead, they will probably be more likely to be susceptible to what they have been taught by their families, as their parents potentially were.
While half of what we take in may be considered garbage, the revolutionary flow of information provided by our world in this day and age, while seemingly a hindrance in the self-sought out intelligence of our youth, can expand our horizons. This new flux of thoughts bouncing off of one another, rolling around ideas, can spark new thoughts, initiatives and promote healthy debate both within groups of people and interpersonally.