How the Internet Made Us Dumber (By Making Us Trust Too Much)

I’ve Been Thinking… About How the Internet Made Us Dumber (By Making Us Trust Too Much)

I don’t think the internet made us dumber.
I think it made us trust more.
And that might be the real problem.

We’ve got a world of infinite information sitting in our pockets — synopses, sources, research papers, full-blown dissertations — yet somehow, we trust Bob from Facebook over Britannica.

Bob, who dropped out of high school but swears he knows how the economy works
“because he’s done his own research.”

Politics Is the Perfect Example

Tonight, New York City elected a Democratic Socialist — a guy who started the race with a 1% chance of winning — and he actually won.

And what’s wild is, most of the outrage online isn’t even about his policies.
It’s about people reacting to a label they don’t understand.

Because once you dig past the Facebook posts and talking points,
once you start learning what those words really mean —
“Democratic.” “Socialist.” “Progressive.” “Conservative.” —
you realize the world isn’t as black-and-white as your uncle’s timeline makes it seem.

When Proof Became a Feeling

When I was a kid, if my dad told me something I didn’t believe,
it didn’t mean I didn’t love him —
it just meant I wanted proof.

Now, if someone online tells us something that already fits what we believe,
that’s all the proof we need.

If I needed brain surgery,
I wouldn’t Google “how to fix brain”
and trust the first Facebook post that pops up.

But when it comes to politics, religion, vaccines, or the economy —
we’ll do the digital equivalent of that every single day.

Belonging vs. Knowing

Maybe that’s the real issue.
We don’t just want to know things anymore — we want to belong to them.

It’s easier to stand with a crowd that’s wrong
than to stand alone and uncertain.

The internet figured that out before we did —
it gives us community faster than it gives us clarity.

But here’s the part we forget:
it’s okay not to know everything.
It’s okay to admit that you don’t fully understand something yet —
as long as you’re willing to learn.

The Smarter Kind of Honesty

I do understand what a Democratic Socialist is,
but if I didn’t, I’d still stand by this same thought.

Because saying, “I don’t know, but I’m trying to,”
is smarter than pretending you do.

And by the way —
if you don’t know what you’re voting for before you go to the polls,
please fix that.

We owe each other that much effort.

The internet didn’t make us stupid.
It just made us lazy with who we trust.

And maybe the next smart thing we can do
is start trusting a little less —
and learning a little more.

Stay curious. Stay human. And always, be kind.