We live in the era of technology. Despite growing used to it, it is still amazing that with the swipe of a finger we can access more information today than anyone else could have found in a lifetime at any other period of history. We might call this the era of information but it is also paradoxically an era of ignorance. Is it possible that all this information can be excessive to the point that it detracts from fundamental benefits we expect from information?

I am a big fan of modern technology in regards to information. Everyday I check my news app in my tablet or my favorite sites on my laptop and save the best articles to pocket for later reading on my phone as I kill time between classes. This however highlights the problem; news is no longer curated by anyone but ourselves. It is not the journalists who decide what news is important, but rather what headlines draw my attention. Why did I decide to read that article on North Korean technology and not the one on American drones? Was it a better picture or a more catching headline? When we choose what articles to read and which ones to disregard we do so in complete ignorance of their importance or lack thereof. I, like anyone not making a living of it, simply do not have the time to be aware of all events let alone to follow up on them.

The lack of time to follow up on one story amongst thousands and the self selection of news shows a common problem in this day and age. We hold strong beliefs for a cause but forget it before the dust has settled. I now have a hard time remembering the companies involved in the recession, most people rooting for WikiLeaks forgot to listen or read Bradley Manning's statement near the end of his trial.

This highlights a fundamental flaw in our dynamics with modern technology. Everything becomes ephemeral news and no one is held accountable. Winston Churchill wrote, "those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it." We no longer study history, we just consume tiny bits of information — tragedies become fun facts and huge atrocities become what-ever-happened-to’s.

Perhaps this is a reason why we allow the richest companies to profit at the expense of human dignity or environmental irreversible damage. Perhaps this is why los indignados and the 99 percent were long ago forgotten why I dare you to find someone who knows the status of the BP oil spill today, the issue of Somali pirates or in a couple of weeks Mali. If we quickly move on who is going to hold anyone accountable to their actions? If we so quickly forget we will continue to waste the opportunities that technology gives us, condemned to repeat the fate of Kony 2012 — good intentions foiled by short attention spans.

With so many news stories and so much information we often fail to follow up on stories, we anchor ourselves to what everyone else is talking about and then move on before understanding the issue. How can we hold public figures or companies accountable if we quickly forget their crimes before evidence has been collected and facts processed. How can Americans put the necessary pressure on the current administration to avoid more environmental damage if they already forgot the huge failure that was the M.M.A in preventing the oil spill? How can Mexicans demand more of their leaders if they already forgot about vote buying and replaced it for the latest headline.

I am not saying this problem is new in the era of the internet, I am sure people quickly forgot important news before laptops but I do think that the excess of information we face today is a problem. Nonetheless, this is as important a time as ever to try and consciously change our ways, follow up on the issues we care about and maybe even revise them weeks, months or years after they happen let's not stop caring. Today we have the ability to be informed of what is happening around the globe within seconds, we can rally together easier and faster than ever and we can make our voices heard louder than at any other point in history. The biggest mistake that our generation can make is to let that go to waste, to lose that potential because we couldn't be bothered to stick to something for long enough to see it through.