The golden age of learning

There is no one best way to learn. The best way to learn is what works for you.

For some, it is visual, and for others, it is auditory.
For some, it is long hours of focussed study, and for others, it is tiny bite-sized sessions.
For some, it is reading text, and for others, it is watching lectures.

The best learning medium should be asynchronous, personalized, reflective, and in your control, not the other way around.

And, internet and social media have made it possible for anyone to learn through a medium and form that is best suited to their style of learning.

In the yesteryears, learning was possible only by sitting in front of a guru and listening to her discourse. Then came the written word and books that democratized learning to a large extent. But, not everyone likes to read. Also, not everyone had access to books.

Thanks to the internet and social media, today, learning is accessible to all in a form that suits their learning style.

If you are a visual learner, you can learn through YouTube videos and infographics.
If you are not into books, you can listen to an audiobook or a podcast.
If long videos cannot hold your attention, you can consume bite-sized information through short videos(TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram Reels).
If you only want an overview of the topic, you can skip the book and read a blog on the same subject.
If you want to mix entertainment and knowledge, you can watch a documentary.
If conversations and asking questions is how you learn, you can follow discussion boards and forums like StackOverflow, Reddit, Hacker News, etc.

By following the right people and channels on social media, one can expose themselves to new thoughts and ideas.

Internet and social media have eliminated the resistance to learning and made it easy; this is significantly underappreciated. Habit-building literature says that if you want to build a habit, make it small, fun, and easy to do. Internet and social media have precisely done this to the acquisition of knowledge. Earlier learning was seen as tedious, and rightly so, one had to be determined and seek the path of wisdom. Not anymore. One can start small, build their interest gradually and passively, even serendipitously, and then go down the rabbit hole.

Social media and technology get a lot of flak. But, if you are smart and know how to use them right, you have hit a goldmine. We are all in a golden age of learning, and it is upon us to make the best use of it.

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