News vs. Noise.

Does anyone else feel like they have whiplash these days? Every time you turn on your TV, phone, or computer, you’re hit with a news flurry about various happenings in Washington, leaving you to sift through fact, fiction, conjecture, and confusion: Is the Department of Education still a thing? Are government funds frozen? Is student loan forgiveness going to be taxed? Will there even be student loan forgiveness anymore?? With the pace of the 24-hour news cycle and different media competing for our attention, it seems like the line between reality and speculation gets blurred more and more. While that makes our lives as informed citizens more difficult, it can be very profitable for information-mongers, especially for those who would exploit our confusion, such as scammers and social media personalities.

Principals vs. Profit.

There’s a billboard off of eastbound I-74 as you cross from Illinois into Indiana that reads, “Verify the media before you believe them.” I don’t know its provenance, but I appreciate it every time I see it. For me, it’s a throwback to the old saying, “Don’t believe everything you hear.” We’d like to believe that people and organizations that purport to represent the “news” are being truthful, but a brief survey of headlines about any issue will quickly reveal that all media is biased. The cruel reality is that media is a business—a trillion dollar global business—and objectivity often gets sacrificed for the sake of sensation. Facts matter, but sometimes it seems like we’ve collectively forgotten that truth. 

Fact vs. Fiction. Panic vs. Persistence.

So how do we respond? Do we crawl inside a sensory deprivation tank? Stick our heads in the sand? I think the first step to approaching any problem is to first acknowledge it. We are less vulnerable to its effects when we recognize that it exists and are aware of its influence. The second is to have a critical ear—be discerning. Look to sources that you trust, but also don’t give them a free pass! An echo chamber can have the same effect as a cone of silence. If we’re getting all of our information from one source, we can only see the world through their perspective rather than the whole picture. 

At Navigate, we are constantly sifting through the noise of media and trying to present the most up-to-date and accurate advice about student loans. You may notice that some of our posts are have crossed-out titles and contain outdated info, but we’ve left them up to be transparent and show how regulations and our advice have evolved. Although many recent student loan policies come about through presidential actions and bureaucratic rule-making procedures, the student loan system is rooted in congressionally-mandated law. PSLF, for example, was passed by Congress with bipartisan support during the George W. Bush Administration, which is why—despite much political grumbling—it would likely take an act of Congress to undo it. 

If you have questions about student loans, especially in the midst of the media frenzy, we’re here to help you sort out fact from fiction, news from noise. Give us a call: ask questions, vent frustrations, or just get the calm reassurances you need. We’ll all get through this together!