6
We use the internet for a lot. We typically find mostly what we want, and we engage in a lot of value judgements about what we find. Asking the questions:
- Is this what I need?
- Is this enough?
- Can I trust what I’m looking at?
Those three questions may not be all you ask, or the questions may be too much. In a lot of cases, we simply ask, “Is what I’ve found good enough?”. This is called, satisficing. The judgement of good enough comes from our beliefs and knowledge about where we place importance. How much control do we have over that belief and knowledge structure?
The goal of developing information consumption literacies is to give you more control over that belief and knowledge structure and to inform you of all the influences that shape the media we consume. By building and understanding of your information consumption, you can build a set of skills that you can put into practice when you are performing mundane tasks like finding a good place for lunch to more complex and important tasks.
Dr. Safiya Noble addressed the importance of understanding the tools that shape our belief and knowledge structure in a 2016 Personal Democracy Forum talk.
