We are the society of instant gratification. I press a button and the information of the world is at my fingertips.
"With great power, comes great responsibility"
We all have this great power.. access to endless knowledge (and.. unfortunately, we are not using it correctly).
Research papers in grade school used to require multiple sources regardless of the topic. We would need to cite 5 or more sources for a paper as simple as the United States civil war. Doing this type of research taught you how to differentiate between good sources and bad sources and it also gave you a broader perspective on a single topic. It seems like we have lost our way and will only use one source, if any, without actually validating who is saying the information that we're citing or what their sources were to get to their conclusion.
It is very disappointing to watch that this is where society is going...
We have the most access and volume as at any time in history, yet we seem to be very limited in what we consume, perhaps more so than ever before. We consume far less than what actually affects us and for more of what is irrelevant to our daily life.
One of the best periods of school I did was in English, a semester on "bias in the media" - everyone should do at least that level. Everyone should also do a basic economics course. There is a reason it is in't mandatory.