Relying too much on Google can lead you into a common mental trap

We’ve all Googled a question and taken the top link as fact, without delving deeper into the credibility of the source.

However, relying too heavily on the search engine can fuel a common mental trap called availability bias, says Cynthia Borja, project manager at the Decision Lab, a think tank where researchers study how people make decisions.

Availability bias is the tendency to believe that easily accessible information is the most factual information.

But Google’s algorithm sometimes shows users unreliable or even misleading sources of information. The first result you see is not necessarily the most accurate.

“If you don’t apply a truly critical perspective and make sure you check more than one source, all you’re doing is getting biased information from a certain point of view,” Borja says.

To reduce your availability bias, Borja recommends consulting multiple sources of different types.

“I never find a single page and I opt for this solution,” says Borja. “I find something on an academic page, then I try to find one from a nonprofit on the same topic.”

Let’s say you’re looking for advice on how to build muscle fast and you come across a study. Be sure to compare its results with another source and research who funded the research. Even if you are reading a reputable publication, you should verify that the sources it cites are also legitimate.

You can learn to spot misinformation by practicing what’s called “lateral reading,” Google executive Beth Goldberg told CNBC Make It.

This is where you try to verify the information you read online by opening new tabs to view additional sources and assess the credibility of the author, organization, and website that published the information.

“(It’s) researching the funder, researching the name of the website and where it came from, and really digging in and getting other sources to verify what’s in the first tab you’re on,” says Goldberg.

And, if you have time, look for sources outside of the Internet.

“Books still have value and libraries still exist,” Borja says. “There are still ways to find information that may not fall prey to the the algorithm you have in Google.”

Google is a useful tool, but you want it to help inform your thought process, not replace it.

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