Never before in human history has the average person had access to such vast amounts of information, creating the capacity to learn anything about any topic they put their time and attention to. Yet, at the same time, the average person seems to be as dumb as ever—because they are not putting their time and attention to the proper information.
On the internet you can read the greatest books ever written for free in the public domain, but most people choose to watch ephemeral video clips on TikTok. Even among those who read, they choose to read short posts on Twitter/X, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, and Instagram. Social media posts are often not well written, just a spur-of-the-moment stream of consciousness outrage-fueled rants and insults. Of course, there are still diamonds in the rough of social media to be found. But the problem with social media, as Marshall McLuhan would say, is the medium itself, more so than the content.
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T.Z. Barry 