As a society we have gotten to the point where many of us do not question or challenge what we are told, or what we read without any pushback. The internet, and social media have contributed to the decline of critical thinking skills.
Too many people believe everything they read on the internet without checking multiple sources or questioning the credibility of what they are reading.
Emotional arguments and allegiance to your beliefs may stem from your family, friends and your upbringing. Those can be the reasons that will overshadow logical reasoning and evidence-based thinking. Religious beliefs can also interfere with critical thinking skills in many situations.
Social media algorithms create echo chambers that expose people primarily to information that reinforce their core beliefs and values that keep them from being willing to be exposed to diverse viewpoints and have civil conversations.
The increased reliance on AI tools can lead to a decline in having an actual discussion with another human by using active problem-solving and analysis.
The stress of our world, day to day life, lack of sleep, being overworked and much more may also contribute as to why people cannot think clearly and critically. There are other pressures as well such as time pressure, financial pressures, burnout, and social programming can also contribute to the loss of critical thinking skills.
If you are one of millions who lack critical thinking skills for many of the reasons named above you can work on cultivating and improving your critical thinking skills by focusing on developing skills like analysis, checking multiple sources of what you are being told or reading, questioning assumptions, and considering multiple perspectives. Practice active listening, engage in problem-solving, and consider diverse sources of information. Reflect on your own thinking processes and seek feedback with an open mind. After you feel confident you have identified the problem or issue, gathered relevant data and evidence from various sources, have analysed all the data you have considered that has made you feel confident in your final decision then you can say you have used your critical thinking skills. Because of that, you have made the best decision possible for yourself and are able to engage in problem solving, reflective thinking and most importantly feel good about your decision or reasoning of why you feel the way you do about an issue or problem in your life. That within itself is a great feeling of success.
Lori Pica