With access to so much information on our social media feeds, it can be hard to differentiate fact vs. fiction.
Oftentimes an article or resource will use language that piques our interest, although the truth might be a bit more convoluted than it appears.
A common issue we see is when causal language makes it sound like one thing directly causes another - something like “People who buy ice cream are more likely to drown”. Often, the variables may be correlated, but this does not mean that there is causation. This is called the Third Variable Problem where a hidden variable comes into play. In the ice cream and drowning example, the underlying variable is actually summertime since both drownings and ice cream sales go up on warmer days.
This is an important concept to keep in mind, because at first glance we can be led to believe something that isn’t actually true.
Another thing to look out for is generalizability. Many sources will make it seem like the findings apply to everyone, but it is important to analyze how the research was conducted and how the results were made. Was information collected via online surveys? Were the participants all university students? Men? A specific age group or demographic? From the same country? If the sample is not random, it is likely not generalizable to most of the population, so we need to be careful when assuming findings apply to everyone.
One more important issue to keep in mind is called the self-confirming bias. With curated algorithms and personalized ads on our social media, we will often be receiving content that is specifically tailored to our personal interests. This can be problematic if we are constantly seeing things that we want to see, or in other words, things that confirm our biases. It is super important to apply critical thinking to the media we receive and to consider various perspectives coming from different angles.
All this to say, don’t take everything at face value when you’re scrolling! Question the sources that pop up on your feed, and examine where the information is coming from.
