Shoutout to Millennials, GENZs, Alpha's and all

Over the next two years, close to three billion people will head to the electoral polls across several economies, including the United States, India, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Indonesia. The presence of misinformation and disinformation in these electoral processes could seriously destabilize the real and perceived legitimacy of newly elected governments, risking political unrest, violence and terrorism, and a longer-term erosion of democratic processes. So why do we talk about the misinformation and disinformation here and now, yes there is a reason. World Economic Forum 2023 has identified the top five risks for every country in the world and for India, the top five is

1. Misinformation and disinformation 

2. Infectious diseases

3. Illicit economic activity

4. Inequality (wealth, income)

5.  Labor shortage

I was surprised that India’s top five risks have Misinformation and disinformation as the Top one when we have unemployment, poverty, labor shortage, energy crisis, inflation, or any economic downturn has not taken the top 5.

So how do we see it from here, why does India have Misinformation and disinformation as top risks?

Does the diversity of language, politics, and culture make it on the top list?  Or ??

In 2023, an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media across the world

According to figures, the biggest social media platforms, at the beginning of 2023, there were 398.0 million users in India who were 18 years of age or older, or 40.2 percent of the country’s entire population.

Time is a precious commodity. So it’s significant that the average person globally spends a significant portion of their day—about 145 minutes—on social media. Interestingly, Indians, on average, spend about 141.6 minutes on social media daily. 

To put this into perspective, if the average person maintained this usage over an average life span of 73 years, the result is an astonishing 5.7 years spent on social media platforms.

Whatever it could be, how can we protect ourselves and family, friends, and society from the “misinformation and disinformation” in this Digital world?

Practice emotional skepticism: Many of us are susceptible to fabricated content because of our emotions and the way they interact with our biases. “It doesn’t matter how educated you are; it doesn’t matter whether you’re left or right,” “We’re vulnerable because as humans we’re drawn to information that reinforces our worldview. We want to consume information that makes us say: ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m right.’

When you’re reading information, if it makes you angry or makes you want to share it with your best friend immediately, then recognize that you are having a visceral response to something. And at the moment, the part of the brain that is critical is not working,” “If you have that reaction, just slow down because your brain hasn’t caught up with your heart.”

Consider the source, double-check, and all the more Pause for some time before you ENTER.