It has now been just over a decade of major technological and communication advancements in ways we never once imagined. In what is described as the “age of information,” many declare ignorance is a choice now, no longer a keen and extraordinarily contagious disease. The biggest contributor to mass communication and information among youth today is undeniably social media. Applications like Instagram, Twitter, and Tik Tok have become the dominant means of entertainment, spread of information, and socialization for nearly all young children and young adults in the US. Now with COVID-19 restrictions limiting ways for us to socialize and communicate with our peers in different environments, social media’s use is even greater and has become an hourly practice for many young people. But along with the increasing popularity of social media as a fun engaging platform during a reign of boredom, we have seen an increase of a new type of social and political pressure specifically targeting our youth in a way that is unique to 2020.

A pressure that continues to grow stronger, as political tensions rise and relevant issues begin to reveal themselves. This pressure is the pressure on all youth to be activists and to use their voices to voice strong opinions (God forbid a young adult isn't absolutely certain what to say) has become one heavy burden for us to take on. While encouraging students and youth to have their voices heard and to be strong in their opinions is good, it can only remain good if we are encouraging them to voice their opinions, to be strong in their understanding of the topic, and to have a strong desire for further understanding of the topic. 

There has been a stigma created on the youth who choose to stay quiet about political or activist causes. It has become yet another standard for the youth to met in order to be considered “cool” or “woke”. Youth that are being out spoken, say people who aren’t filling their feed with political debate and spreading word on their views that they are being immature and are ignoring issues that are impactful and important to address for us and our society. Now along with all the other taboos and expectations that students and youth have created to judge one another on, there is one more. And this time the taboo of not speaking in a politically correct manner is not only hurting youth on an emotional biases, but is also discouraging the use of critical thinking and making them afraid not always knowing what the right answer is. Important topics like political disputes are now being tainted with pressure on youth to look educated in the eyes of their peers, rather than to actually be educated. 

One day my twin brother asked me my opinions on a trending political topic, specifically whether or not I thought he was doing/ saying enough about the controversy. He explained how his friends were pressuring him to talk about the issues and that “silence was no longer an option”. He was fighting the temptation to post the trending instagram stories and no longer be nagged about being politically incorrect, but in reality he didn't know what to think on the topic because he didn’t know enough on the subject to speak out about. I was upset that his friends would pressure him into having certain political views, especially since I was in similar positions on the topic and I was saying my piece, and I knew he wasn’t and I didn’t pressure him. He became deeply hurt by the pressures that he was receiving not only from his friends on social media, but also adults in his life to say the “right” things.

When he talked to me about it, I had to remind him, “An authentically educated voice is more powerful than a loud one.” While I believed the topic was important, it was and is more important for him and any others who experience similar pressures to take the time to have a real desire to understand the topic, acknowledge their ignorance or need for further understanding, and finally, thoroughly get educated on the topic. While even this process never gives any one full authority when speaking out on foreign topics, it allows for that individual to, or my brother, to make the decision themselves not based on pressures, but because they understand why it is important. 

In the end my  brother felt relieved to have someone's support in growth rather than support ignorant agreeance with what everyone said was right. If all youth can grow and mature and realize the maturity in admitting ignorance, then we could make decisions about important topics based on our careful analysis and our educated understanding of the topics instead of based on the fear of ignorance.

This pressure is greatly increased on social media because it is where topics are trending but are often not reliably and thoroughly explained in their complexities. This allows for easy access to another excuse to look matured in political opinion by posting it on your instagram story or tweeting about it. On top of this easy way to be approved by our peers, it also makes it easy to confront and criticize though who don't do that by using public humiliation to shame them or even indirect humiliation. And in the terrible nature of social media, not all of this can been effectively stopped and discouraged. But even more unfortunately, this social pressure becomes trending or popular because it can make such an relieving entertainment or encouragement for some to engage in. This is especially true for people who are put at ease when they see that their unhealthy pressure that they are also pushing is being excepted and promoted by the media. Since this is the case in the nature of social media, we cant depend on social media to change this issue.

This leaves us with only one option: to take responsibility of our ignorance as young people and to teach that availability to information doesn’t mean being informed. We as youth need to promote learning rather than checking another box to achieve a good reputation. Even the great physician and intellectual Albert Einstein said “The more I learn the more I realize how much I don’t know.” It is our duties as growing and maturing youth to accept that we are still ignorant but thankful we get to choose to grow. By accepting this we can change the direction of our generation by learning to respect ourselves and peers who are mature enough to admit when they have much more to learn.