Wikipedia is well-known amongst the online community as a virtually unlimited source of information. Its dynamic content provides for both interaction and elaboration; two key components shared by other Wiki "programs" that are ushering in a new era of online capabilities. Wikipedia and similar sites are surely rousing the winds of change.

But as with all changes, we must ask ourselves, how is this negatively impacting us?

First and foremost, the reliability of information posted on Wikipedia is equal to that of rumors whispered in the halls of a high school. Information can sometimes be untrue and quite often opinionated because users can post and edit everything.

An issue rarely recognized is that facing children and young adults using Wikipedia as a "reliable" source. Gone are the days where students pore over piles of books for research papers, and along with them go any and all knowledge of what a reliable source actually is. The wealth of information at the fingertips of our younger generation is more often than not untrue.

Although Wikipedia is a revolutionary idea, this wind of change can just as easily lead us into the Misinformation Age.

Learn more about this author, Kelly Grzech.
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