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Ok, I'm going to show my own bias here. When I read this -Ben Smith is the media columnist. He joined The Times in 2020 after eight years as founding editor in chief of BuzzFeed News. - although I was vaguely aware of his co-founding Buzz-Feed, which, BTW, I used to read during the Bush years and fell away from, I thought, 'This points …
Ok, I'm going to show my own bias here. When I read this -Ben Smith is the media columnist. He joined The Times in 2020 after eight years as founding editor in chief of BuzzFeed News. - although I was vaguely aware of his co-founding Buzz-Feed, which, BTW, I used to read during the Bush years and fell away from, I thought, 'This points to a generational gap'.
Since the dawn of CNN, then Fox and MSNBC, we've lived in this machine-gun-delivery, 24/7 news 'cycle', with no time for nuance or context. Nuance and context aren't sexy - they're not hip, they're not photogenic!
Is it any wonder a large percentage of Americans couldn't find Iraq on a map or don't know diddly about how government is supposed to work? Between starving our public school systems and teaching to the test (and dumbing down curricula), I'm surprised most Americans can find their way home at night.
And that is the universe wherein Mr. Smith apparently cut his teeth. He may not value the depth we do because he's never really been introduced to it properly. (I know, there I go, making assumptions again.);-)
I agree. Taking time to read, ponder, and think seems to be sadly outdated in many spheres.
Thanks to social media and the simplistic way people ‘communicate’. Memes, likes, gifs, sound bites. No receptive or expressive skills needed. I crave good conversations after a good read.
Agreed.
These days, not only do a lot of people not have any training in scientific or critical thinking, many of those do not even know anyone who has any training in scientific or critical thinking.
And of course they will not learn any such skills from our usual electronic sources. Incidentally, I am personally in favor of electronic news and communication, only not the kind that we are currently available to people who desperately need and deserve something far better.