If you don’t remember the Instagram copyright hoax of 2012 (or the many resurgences in the years following), consider yourself lucky. It was a time of great second-hand embarrassment. A post spread claiming that if one did not repost it, Instagram would gain access to users’ private information.

The post was a Notes app screenshot, the legal statements in it made no sense, and the chaos that was spurred could have been cleared up with a simple Google search. It contained multiple red flags indicating an unreliable source.

Yet, many sprung into action: feeds were filled to the brim with this post and users were desperate to protect their privacy. In fact, the post got so big it was even posted by celebrities, like singer Usher and actress Julia Roberts.

At the end of the day, all who posted this image got to keep their private information. Those who didn’t post this image…also did. Because it was clearly a hoax.

Generation Z, arguably the most social-media-savvy generation, looks back at this and laughs. It’s silly to think that a single Instagram post could ensure one’s full protection against corporations vying for private information.

It’s funny, though, that we laugh when this generation’s social media literacy is also shamefully low—look at Twitter for example.

On September 21, user @gylledger posted an article entitled “Addison Rae Could Win An Oscar For ‘He’s All That,’” captioned “sorry what”. The Tweet blew up with 12.6K likes and 2.1K retweets, most of which were out of pure outrage. Another piece of “breaking news” that garnered a similar reaction was the announcement that influencer Dixie D’Amelio would perform at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Of course, anger is justifiable when looking at the excessive privilege of modern influencers (such as Rae leading a film with no prior experience), but it’s still important to educate yourself on what you are criticizing, especially because neither of these posts were true.

The Rae article was easy clickbait that took the fact that Netflix originals are eligible for Oscar nominations and ran with it. Additionally, the D’Amelio news was simply untrue. There was no background to it—someone posted it just to spread lies and garner likes. Both of these posts still lead to energy wasted on rage that could be saved by the tiniest bit of research, like reading the full article or a second source for confirmation.

Another example of lacking Twitter literacy leading to unnecessary anger is the user @GenZMoments, which posts reasons why “this generation is doomed” by making fun of questionable takes by Gen Z content creators. While the account does post some authentic material, a lot of the posts fail to comprehend obvious bait and fuel unwarranted anger towards complete strangers on the internet.

In a desperate attempt to bring others down, accounts like this and those who follow them take everything at face value and don’t take time for further research. This generation has an incredibly niche sub-genre of humor that may be hard to understand if one hasn’t been exposed to it. A vast amount of Twitter users do not put in effort to understand it, and instead use their own lack of understanding as a reason to be critical. They look at Gen Z humor, which is sarcastic and occasionally satirical in nature, and consider it serious: missing the jokes that are flying over their heads.

It’s rather disappointing to see Gen Z laugh at older generations for their social media failures, only to recreate those failures in newer forms.

Twitter in general is a platform that thrives on reactions, and in today’s world, there is plenty to react to. Simple credibility checks can ensure that users are reacting to issues that are actually real. Check your sources! There’s a difference between news from a reporter and “OMFG oomf (“one of my followers”) told me…”

Remember to look at biases too: if a story about Jake Gyllenhaal comes out on a Taylor Swift stan account, maybe do some double checking off of Twitter. (He probably showers more than Swifties have told you.) Generally, if something is true, it will be reported on by multiple platforms. If news can be found on Twitter, especially from an account that doesn’t feature that reliable blue checkmark, maybe consider the possibility of it being an untrustworthy source.

Gen Z has been taught a simple fact since their first time on a computer that they have to keep themselves from forgetting: not everything on the internet is true.

Twitter (il)Literacy