Critical Thinking and Media Literacy: Don't Believe Everything on social media.

 Hello friends!

Today I want to talk about Critical Thinking and Media Literacy. This is very important for travelers today.

The problem with social media

When I want to travel to a new town in Antioquia, I first look on Instagram and TikTok. I see beautiful photos of rivers with blue water and cheap hotels. But sometimes, this information is not true. This is called fake news.

For example, last month I saw a video about a "secret river" in San Rafael. The video had 100,000 likes. I went there by motorcycle, but the place was dirty and very expensive. The video was only publicity. It was not real.

How to use critical thinking?

Now, I am more careful. Before I travel, I do these 3 things:

• Check the source: Who made the video? Is it a real traveler or just a company that wants money?
• Read the comments: I always read the comments. Real people often write the truth in the comments.
• Compare information: I don't believe only one video. I search on Google, I look at Google Maps photos, and I ask my friends.

In my opinion, media literacy is the ability to understand if information is reliable or not. Critical thinking means you don't believe everything immediately. You ask questions.

I think this is a very important skill for life, not only for travel. In the age of the internet, we need to be smart and check the facts.

Do you always believe what you see on Social media?