Once I thought of this title, I had to generate a post to go with it.
Most citizens are familiar with the controversy related to the 2016 Presidential election and Russian meddling. I am not addressing collusion although collusion may yet be demonstrated. It is well established that Russian actors worked to use social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to encourage likely Democratic voters either to ignore the election in frustration over the poor options on the ballot or to vote against Hillary. It would be difficult to establish just how effective these efforts were, but we at least know that the Russians made the effort to favor Donald Trump in the election. The content circulated to targeted voters has become known as “fake news”. In other words, this content sent by the Russians was false.
While it has been established that this happened, it is still debated whether the volume of this shared content could have been large enough to matter. However, the impact of the original volume was magnified by the sharing of those who received the initial posts. The reshared posts were reshared again. This is how viral propaganda works.
So, what does any of this have to do with old fogies. The release of a recent study provides the answer. It turns out those over 65 are more prone to share fake news than those from other age groups. Older individuals are also historically more likely to vote and to take conservative views on things. You may start to get the picture.
Get off my lawn you young liberal whippersnappers!
You might find articles related to this age group and fact news propagation research of interest (Verge article, Verge article2).
I am 70. I comment on political news stories on Facebook. Maybe I am the problem. I certainly hope not. I know a few Russians fairly well, but I doubt very seriously I was targeted by the Russian group supporting Donald. Very unlikely I would say. I voted for Bernie in the Minnesota primary. I believe in supporting those less fortunate than myself. I believe that the U.S. has an important role to play in the world and cannot hide behind a real or virtual wall. I was even a college professor. It definitely could not have been me.
However, as a proud member of this age group, I am interested in what about my peers would lead to this willingness to pass on falsehoods and what might be done about it. I kind of understand why older people get more conservative and defensive. They understand things are changing and they tend not to be part of this change. They assume things as they understood them are superior to the world of today and feel they have little opportunity to impact what they see as a slide. This is depressing and at best leads to a group of grumps (my alliteration skills are really working today).
I understand that action is one way to address feelings that you lack control. However, the effort to share is an action that is just too easy to take. It is pretty much mindless and offers little in the way of personal benefit. So, here is the thing old folks. For your own benefit, take the time to read before you share (and not just the title) and take the time to write about why you shared what you did. Mental activity is as important as physical activity at our age. Better yet – walk to the coffee shop and then do your read, write, and share thing.
Hang in there old folks.
One last thing. It turned out I was unsure how to use the phrase “old fogey”. Most of us speak this phrase, but seldom write it. I had to Google the term to find the proper spelling. It turns out there are options. I went with fogey because I found an explanation that claimed fogey was a derivation of a French word. I am doing what I can to develop my cultural side. I am still unsure how to generate a plural. I am going with fogies.