I fell into an "information trap" again

There's no escape from it. The media, the fourth pillar of democracy, operate as just any other business in our capitalist economy, enticing readers with sensational headlines or titles that make you feel like you're missing out if you don't read a particular article.

So, you click on the article, only to realize from the first few paragraphs that it doesn't live up to the headline. By then, the newspaper has already achieved its goal of generating more hits and views, which they can leverage for more advertising revenue.

This cycle of clicking seems never-ending, and unfortunately, it's not in favor of the readers. It's rather tragic because there's no way to avoid it.

The article will pretend to address a crucial issue that affects your life, making you feel compelled to read it, lest you remain ignorant of the discussed topic and suffer negative consequences in your personal and societal life.

Yesterday, I fell for such an article on a foreign website. The headline made it seem essential to understand the current affairs of Maldives, drawing me in with the promise of exploring Maldivian politics.

It's always refreshing to gain a foreign perspective on local matters, and intrigued by this idea, I clicked on the link that arrived in my Gmail inbox. This link was related to my subscription to Google Alerts for the keyword "Maldives."

Regrettably, my excitement turned to disappointment when I realized that the article was excessively long without any intriguing independent viewpoints. Instead, it merely provided a description of Maldivian politics, which I was already familiar with. I had hoped for a thought-provoking analysis of our political landscape, but it fell short.

This situation exemplifies those instances when we expect to acquire new and valuable information but end up finding nothing of the sort. While there could be various reasons for this outcome, it is unproductive to engage in speculative pondering.

After investing considerable time in reading the entire article and searching for hidden insights, I feel obligated to caution others that it's not worth their time. However, for the curious ones who don't mind wasting time, here's the headline of the article along with the incorporated link: "What Mohammed Nasheed’s breakaway party means for democracy in Maldives."

This reminds me of our discussion yesterday about a friend who skims the surface of all issues to avoid being left out of conversations. To some extent, I also have a tendency to do the same. However, I am cautious about allowing websites to send notifications to my phone, as I already receive enough notifications from platforms like Viber and WhatsApp.

Instead, I find it helpful to subscribe to newsletters from certain websites, which are delivered to my Gmail inbox, allowing me to read them when I have free time. Newsletters from sources like The Economist, Inverse Daily, and others are useful because they provide headlines and introductory summaries, enabling me to decide which articles are interesting and worth my time to read, and which ones I can skip.

However, it's important to remember that you can still fall into the information trap, as not all newspapers rely on subscriber funding. Many newspapers, especially those in Maldives, depend on advertisers for their survival.