In a world whirling with political, social, and economic turmoil, it can be hard to stay up to date with everything that’s going on around you, whether it be online or in person.

As social media platforms and their user numbers grow, so do the amount of resources available to everyone, overflowing with a wealth of information.

That being said, it also comes with the caveat that Twitter probably shouldn’t be the first place you look to educate yourself on an issue.

Social media holds no guarantee of offering credible sources, and most platforms are curated for sharing opinions and personal beliefs as opposed to concrete fact.

As a teenager growing up primarily on social media, left to my own devices, it’s been extremely hard to train myself out of immediately turning to Instagram stories to learn more about a world-wide issue of epic proportions. I’ve gotten better about it, but I’m not alone in this sentiment, and the mindset leads to mass ignorance.

Whenever an influencer or celebrity starts an upset, many are quick to defend them, exclaiming that their lack of social awareness stems from inactivity on social media or in ‘politically correct’ circles.

But that begs the question: are these public figures incapable of doing research themselves? Have they never checked if their scores pass the CRAAP test? Are we as people above reading more than one article?

TikTok comments should not be what you rely on in order to decide your stance on an issue or receive statistics on the number of dead protestors in a foreign country.

I make it a point to consult several sources before assuming that whatever my mutuals have Retweeted is factually correct, and I think that we should all learn to reevaluate our approaches to educating ourselves as if we’re about to write an essay on each topic.