Our thumbs are faster than facts. The speed at which we share information often outpaces the speed at which we can verify it. But in a world where anyone with access to Wi-Fi can have a megaphone and a following, how do we know what’s real, what’s manufactured, and what’s just your cousin Bill sharing his conspiracy theories again? And how have we ended up in a place where people are more likely to trust news coming from someone they’ve never actually met over a traditional news source?
We saw the chaos that ensues when an audience who desperately needs critical factual information is met with disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire during the Covid-19 pandemic. While I had already been sharing current events and news on my Instagram, the pandemic turned a personal hobby into a lifeline for thousands. I watched people separate themselves into two distinct camps: (1) A group that had the news on 24/7 and wanted every piece of information that could help them or their communities understand what we were facing, and (2) A group that never wanted to turn on the news and wanted only the most important information that was relevant to their daily lives to preserve their mental health.
While I fell into the first group, I started posting for the second group. I quickly learned where to find factual information that was updated on a daily basis. I became online friends with epidemiologists and scientists and doctors. My curiosity and desire for information led me to curate a feed that would make my friends stay informed, but not overwhelmed. And I continue to do that today (for my 230K+ friends).
It didn’t happen overnight, but somewhere between live-tweeting The Bachelor and sharing well-researched articles with thoughtful commentary, people started turning to me for news updates and political takes. Friends began tagging me under headlines asking, “Is this real?” DMs trickled in with links and the ever-familiar, “Thoughts?” Before I knew it, I had unintentionally become a kind of news curator on social media—not a journalist, but someone others trusted to filter the noise and spotlight the signal.
According to the 2025 Digital News Report from Reuters Institute, 54% of U.S. adults now say they get their news from social media and video platforms, surpassing both TV (50%) and traditional news websites/apps (48%). This marks the first time in history that social media has taken the lead.
Unsurprisingly, young demographics are leading this shift globally with 44% of 18-24 year-olds and 38% of 25-34 year-olds now using social and video platforms as their main source of news. 37% of those under 30 turn to digital influencers for news.
It is absolutely imperative that content creators who share or amplify news remain committed to accuracy. In an overstimulating digital world, audiences are eager for creators they trust to help them make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Of course, we know that this trust can also be built out of falsehoods, conspiracies and fear-mongering, which is one of the most infuriating parts about being a person in this ecosystem. Your voice is just as loud as the next person regardless of truth or nuance.
How do we share responsibly in the age of virality? We are all individually part of the information ecosystem, whether that’s as members sharing information or receiving it. And we all have to make conscious decisions regarding the information diet we consume on a daily basis.
I’ve had this conversation with my friends, my parents, their friends, elected officials, public figures and more. And honestly, no one has an answer. There isn’t a foolproof answer that establishes the “right” way to approach social media. There is no one way to engage with it and feel entirely satisfied, entirely unscathed and entirely informed. There is not a one size fits all approach to make someone likeable or to make anything “go viral”.
And what the conversation doesn’t usually touch (because many of these people don’t want to keep hearing me talk about this for over 45 minutes) is that there is a different and equally important conversation to have about how information then moves OFF of these platforms.
Raise your hand if you have said “I read something recently…” or “I saw a study about X that said Y…” and you were really referring to a TikTok post you watched or a headline you read, but you didn’t read farther than that. I would venture to say that the majority of Americans would raise their hands if they were being honest.
Sharing information is social currency, and that doesn’t stay within the confines of your cell phone. We want to know what is happening in the world. We don’t want to fall behind or seem out of the loop. We want to belong.
And isn’t that really what so much of this is about? When connection is just a tap away, we can satisfy our need to feel seen, heard, and not alone by joining conversations and amplifying ideas on a global scale at an alarming pace. But with that comes immense responsibility: Responsibility to think critically, to verify before sharing, and to recognize that behind every post is a person, a story, an opinion and maybe a consequence.
As I continue to understand how to be a (semi-public) human in this digital landscape, I’m constantly reminded that vulnerability is wonderful, discernment is critical and mistakes are unavoidable. I am acutely aware of the role I play, and I hope you are too.