You might think you’re more of an expert than you actually are if you share an article on social media.

 

According to a number of recent studies, simply sharing an item online without having read it might lead people to assume they are more educated about a subject.

 

Type study, undertaken by three McCombs School of Business faculty members at the University of Texas, examined how sharing online content influences what people think they know.

 

Difference between Objective and Subjective knowledge

Researchers provided a group of 98 students (52 men and 46 women) papers to read and possibly to share in order to assess the difference between what individuals actually know—objective knowledge—and what people think they know—subjective knowledge. Prior to taking a test to gauge their objective knowledge, the students had to rate their subjective understanding of the piece. Even if students didn’t read the article, researchers discovered that sharing it was associated with higher subjective knowledge scores.

 

The researchers discovered during the study that the overconfidence we get from sharing knowledge online not only seems to change how we think of ourselves. But, also appears to influence the decisions we make in real life and the connections we form.