When the world wide web was first created in 1989, it offered a myriad of opportunities to everyone– including a form of infinite resource sharing and learning. Though these computers had videogames and a few chat rooms, they were primarily used for research and were seen as a luxury. But now in 2025, computers and technology of all sorts are everywhere. It’s become so intertwined with how we live our lives that we use it every single day– but not so much for proper research. What happened, and why does learning suddenly feel more difficult?
Bite-sized content, which first occurred in the 2010s, is one of the easiest pinpoints to start answering this question. The most prominent platform that featured this content was Vine who predominately featured six second comedy skits. When it became one of the top growing social media platforms in 2013, more competitors began to arise, the most notable being Musical.ly which later became TikTok.
Though TikTok began with a similar premise as Vine, the platform soon began expanding into slightly longer videos that weren’t just comedic, but rather explored a variety of topics and genres including social justice and politics.
Since then, many other apps and platforms have modeled themselves to share the same content design. However, there are a lot of issues surrounding the spreading of information with bite-sized content such as this, especially when it comes to education, social justice, and politics.
As of 2024 the Reuters Institute reports a staggering 54% of people get their news from social media. Though this may not initially sound like a problem as social media is designed so people can talk about politics and events, when the consideration of the way the platform’s algorithm works is taken into account, the cognitive threat becomes more clear.
Clickbait titles and ragebaiting content are just a few of the ways these apps and sites are designed to keep users scrolling instead of pausing to think. This is yet to mention the continuing attention span decline that while isn’t completely caused by short form content, does make the issue worse by essentially throwing away the need to engage or focus on longer content.
In fact, a study done in 2020 showed 59% of people who were sent articles online did not actually click the link or read the article itself, but rather read the headline alone. Not only does this make for a misinformed or underinformed audience as the context, history, and overall information have been ignored, but it discourages the act of critical thinking as a whole.
Studies show students who frequently consume short-form content may find they experience struggles with retaining information, reading long articles, listening to long lectures, or even participating in class discussions.
Another reason people are less inclined to do their own research is due to opinion pressure and truth bias.
Though the exact culture of online apps, sites, or groups varies based on the platform, one thing tends to remain consistent: speed is worth more than accuracy. As such, consumers feel pressured to react or hold an immediate opinion based on the small snippet of content they saw or heard about– especially if thousands of others concur with that opinion. This is what’s known as the bandwagon fallacy– essentially believing “that many people can’t be wrong!”
However, it doesn’t always take thousands of opinions in order to pressure someone into a belief. Have you ever been in class or sitting with a group of friends on campus where you’re then asked about a subject or controversy that you’ve never heard about? With silence often being seen as ignorance, the eyes of fellow peers watching, plus the human desire to conform, it’s easy to take the most accepted opinion.
Though all these things contribute to stagnant learning and obstinance, perhaps the largest contributor yet to be mentioned is the use of artificial intelligence. Though Google’s search engine remains dominant in terms of inquiries, AI has slowly been rising to the challenge with its growing consumer base. Unlike search engines, AI gives a direct, conversational, and more personal response to inquiries.
New studies indicate that 92% of students across the UK use AI to help them with their work, whether it be to outline, summarize, interpret material, or even straight up writing the entire assignment. Though students often feel this saves them time or betters the quality of their assignments, they simply aren’t getting the best out of their education, and end up believing sources that are often wrong.
In short, consuming TikTok length information, general AI summaries, and lack of independent research means that genuine learning in the modern era has become more difficult. It’s not because learning itself has become harder, or that the internet and AI poisons young minds. The issue comes from how we contribute to and consume online culture.
UH Student News 