The Paradox of the Information Age

 Just two decades ago — or even a decade and a half ago — access to information was remarkably limited. Many people who needed specific kinds of knowledge had to bend over backwards, being deliberate, discreet and painstaking in their search. From fettered access to today’s vast sea of online information, to the limited availability of computers and smart devices — in fact, everything the so-called Gen Z now takes for granted was once scarce or entirely out of reach to the vast majority of people.

If someone who died in that era were to return today, they would struggle to adjust, or even to believe what they see.

In recent times, beyond cutting-edge technology making printing faster and more efficient for libraries and institutions, the revolution of the internet and computers has profoundly reshaped the information landscape. What a fortunate generation we are! But does this mean we are more discerning of the truth?

Today, a child from a remote corner of the world can access the entirety of human knowledge on a single handheld device — and at a minimal cost. No individual or entity can successfully claim monopoly over knowledge or information anymore.

Yet with this unprecedented access comes a new challenge: the ability to sift truth from noise.

One would imagine that the rise of the Information Age would usher in a deeper pursuit of truth and understanding. Sadly, but not surprisingly, our generation is dying of thirst for truth while drowning in a vast ocean of information. Many people no longer know how to tell truth apart from competing falsehoods. Others deliberately seek out information that reinforces their own biases and predispositions, to the detriment of honest understanding.

And so, perhaps the challenge of our age is no longer how to access information, but how to interpret it — how to separate truth from illusion, fact from opinion, and knowledge from noise.

Only when we rediscover the discipline of discernment will the promise of the Information Age truly be fulfilled. In the end the true revolution is not how much we know, but how much we understand.