I’m Tired of Experts with no Expertise
This is not another think piece about a certain life coach with questionable credentials. No, this is not an article about whether you can find a certain psychology expert’s dissertation online and if, in fact, she got her degree from ICDC. No, this is an article about our society’s inability to sift through nonsense, while blindly following social media “experts” because they drop a hot bar or two.
Social media has changed how expertise is presented and perceived. You have enough followers? Check. You got a cute face? Check. You throw in a few big words here and there to the backdrop of pop culture references? Double check. Now, a polished presentation oftentimes automatically gives instant credibility. The algorithm has altered who we deem qualified to speak on certain topics and has shaped our understanding of complex issues, rather than us using critical thinking and independent knowledge-seeking to expand our exposure to those topics.
Many audiences consume content passively and rarely investigate the backgrounds of public figures. And in most cases, that’s okay. Social media was never designed to require critical media consumption. It becomes a problem when we start shaping our decisions and daily practices according to what popular “experts” with questionable credentials say, without critically interrogating their perspectives.
When I earned my Ph.D. in Communications, Culture & Media Studies from The Howard University, it required four years of intense academic rigor, intellectual interrogation and critique from scholars with decades of experience. After completing my core classes and before advancing to my elective courses, I had to take my screening exam. Locked in a computer lab from 8-4 with no access to anything outside of a Word document. In that setting, I had to write multiple research papers referencing nothing but the knowledge I’d acquired up to that point in the program. No TikToks, no ring lights, just me, the computer, and whatever knowledge I retained during my 9 months of doctoral studies. I passed – confident that I was on my way to being an expert in my field, but most importantly, confident that I could defend my arguments with more than a snazzy viral clip, but with pages of carefully crafted arguments, rooted in scholarship.
Today’s innanet experts could never. The internet removed traditional gatekeepers, which has been great for creating opportunities for marginalized voices, but has also made it harder for audiences to distinguish expertise from performance. It has removed the refinement process that I and so many other Ph.D.s went through during our graduate studies to rightfully earn the “expert” title. It has made it too easy for users to accept authority without interrogation. Media literacy is more important now than ever, especially when it involves Black expertise and representation.
I’m tired of all of these experts with no expertise. So no, this was not another think piece about a certain life coach’s questionable credibility. This was a critique against our culture’s obsession with viral clips, phrases, and shallow insights. So, the question isn’t whether this certain life coach has a degree, but rather, do we, as audiences, know how to assess someone’s credibility and whether we even care enough to do so? Ultimately, humanity is dependent on it.