Letter to Ansh — 11

Dear Ansh

It is Sunday morning 24th February. You will be coming back Tuesday late night and I can’t be more excited. You seem to have enjoyed your time with your grandparents and extended family and seeing you laugh and play makes me very happy as well.

We live in the age of social media. For your own sake I wish this current era would have long died by the time you grow up. While the rise of internet has led to many great things such as instantaneous access to facts and knowledge it has a very dark side as well. The internet connected the world like never before and everyone could share tidbits of what they know with each other.

This decentralized sharing of facts meant that the internet is now the biggest repository of information on the world. Even the library of Congress and the famed libraries of ancient Egypt and Greece are a mere drop in the ocean as compared to what the internet can do. By empowering everyone to contribute, the amount of information that can be sourced scales up exponentially.

But just because everyone can contribute does not mean everyone is correct. The reality is there are many people in the world who are lazy, people who will not take sufficient effort to educate themselves. These people will also consider their biases and preconceived notions as facts without testing them to an objective rational process.

In general we as human beings do not like being told that we are wrong. What we hate even more is to be told publicly that we are wrong. Instead of dealing with the humiliation we would rather stick with defending the indefensible.

The internet was supposed to create an open platform where ideas could be shared and discussed to allow the best ones to rise. However the human foibles of not being able to deal with being wrong means that people tend to gravitate towards forming like minded groups and create their own bubble of how they see the world. In these bubbles the people in the other bubble are the source of everything that is wrong in the world.

The internet can be a great leveller, everyone can have a say. But when everyone can have a say, how to prove what is right? How do you argue with hordes of stupid people who insist that the world is flat?

And to make matters worse, given the flood of opinion floating around it is becoming harder and harder to get people to pay attention to you. As a reaction to that what is shared gets embellished. Facts are portrayed in a manner that makes them seem more shocking. To win the fight for eyeballs, things are made to seem crazier than they are.

And as the final piece de resistance, the internet also affords you anonymity. Say what you like without consequences. While being able to share ideas without fear is the basis of growth, it is also problematic at times. Online bullying has often led to people taking their own lives or inciting others to violence.

This is a heady mixture. How do you tackle it?

The answer is quite simple. You abstain most of the time. Stay away from reading or posting foolish commentary. Pick your news sources carefully. Pay for your news, if you are not paying you are the product. So be careful and steer away from free “news” sources. I have personally found the Economist, and most financial publications as good sources of information. But know to recognize an opinion from a fact. And if it is opinion check if it is a rational objective one or based on the authors incorrect biases.

Being right is an advantage. If you know something to be true that others do not then do not share it to those who do not seek or value it. Do not post comments or share things obsessively. Often times people will measure their self worth in the number of likes their posts get. If you base your self worth in the opinion of others then that is a problem because the vast majority of people are often irrational and stupid. Better to measure your self worth in your own way. And rather than aspiring to be better than others, aspire to be better than your previous self.

Instead of sharing your pictures and videos with thousands of long lost virtual friends, share your time making deeper bonds with your family and close friends. Unplug from time to time and get in touch with the real world.

If you know something that others do not then figure out how you can monetize it. When someone pays for your opinion or its impact then you know for sure you are right and what others think of it does not matter as long as they are paying for it. For eg: If you think red colored jackets are best and someone else thinks blue color jackets are the best, then do not get into an argument. Sell as many red jackets as you can and make money by proving your opinion was right.

Being right is important, do not give it away for free. Value it and monetize it.

Your loving father

Moresh