The Dumbing Down of Society
The Death of Critical Thinking in the Digital Age
The more connected we become, the dumber we get.
In the wake of our techno-social advancement, when critical thinking has never been more essential, we’ve let it take a back seat. Society has settled into its comfortable echo chambers where beliefs aren't challenged. Only reinforced, cementing us into tribes, making it harder to question our assumptions or accept uncomfortable truths.
Meanwhile, AI has made giant leaps in a short amount of time and is now capable of generating hyper-realistic video. Why is that relevant and dangerous? Because video is the most effective medium for conveying information. Especially when it's convincing.
Add this AI-generated leap on top of existing misinformation, and you get a speed-over-accuracy culture where truth is sacrificed for virality.
From the creator, László Gaál: “Before you ask: yes, everything is AI here. The video and sound both coming from a single text prompt per clip using Veo3 by Google DeepMind and then these clips are edited together.”
In 2018, an MIT study found that false news spreads significantly faster and more broadly than real news. Falsehoods were 70% more likely to be retweeted than the truth. That was before generative AI, TikTok, and faster platforms. It's likely gotten worse now.
Why It Matters
When critical thinking dies, so do polite conversations and the ability to solve shared problems. Retreating to our echo chambers, where each side is convinced it's right, only deepens polarization and destroys common ground. Compromise becomes almost impossible. Without the tools to question what we see, we become easy targets for lies, and manipulation by bad actors, politicians, and algorithms alike.
Psychologically, our biases thrive in this environment. We crave certainty and simplicity. We’re wired to believe the easy answers served up by algorithms, even when they're wrong. Critical thinking is challenging. It threatens our comfort by forcing us to live with doubts, nuance, and complexity. But it's precisely that discomfort that protects us from deception.
How AI and Social Media Shape Our Thinking
In today's social media landscape, algorithms reward outrage and confirmation. These apps don't care about the truth; they only care about your likes, shares, and keeping you scrolling. It’s a simple formula: the more you engage, the more money they make.
This is the attention economy, and you are the product. Generative AI only makes it easier to fake evidence and fuel those fires. It's all deliberate. We're emotional creatures. When something strikes a chord—true or not—we feel compelled to shout it from the rooftops (or immediately share it). That's the convenience trap: all the thinking is done for us. Our job is just to spread it.
No thought. Just a reaction.
How to Retrain the Brain
I think we start by defining critical thinking:
Critical thinking is the ability to question what you see, test what you believe, and stay open to being wrong. It's a survival skill in an age built to manipulate your emotions and reward your biases.
So, how do we fight back?
We stop outsourcing our thinking to algorithms and AI, while taking responsibility to think for ourselves.
Here are some practical steps:
Ask better questions. Be skeptical. Don't accept headlines, videos or viral claims at face value. Ask: Who benefits if you believe this? What evidence supports it? What is being left out? Could this be AI generated? Better questions lead to better answers. Question everything.
Seek disconfirming evidence. We're wired to look for what proves us right. We love being right. Fight that instinct. Actively search for information that challenges your views. The goal isn't to lose your conviction. It's to make sure they stand up to scrutiny. Philosophers do this by arguing against their theories. They actively try to poke holes in their arguments. This is key to critical thought.
Slow down your reactions. Outrage and virality thrive on speed. Misinformation spreads because we share before thinking.
Pause.
Verify.
Take an extra minute (or hour) to see if what you're about to share is true. Don't be the one adding fuel to a misinformation fire.
Pause your social media intake. The easiest way to get swept up in the misinformation maelstrom is to stay glued to your feed. Take a break from your phone. Go for a walk. Read a book. Make something. It’s easy to get caught in an emotional uproar when you’re endlessly scrolling through posts designed to feed your bias and beliefs.
Diversify your sources. If you only read what confirms your worldview, your thinking will atrophy. Follow people you disagree with. Read news from across the spectrum. Challenge your bubble before it hardens into dogma. I have no affiliation with them, but Ground.news is a great place to start.
Teach skepticism, not cynicism. Skepticism questions evidence and demands proof. Cynicism dismisses everything as corrupt or false. The former makes it hard to fool you. The latter just makes you easy to manipulate. Learn the difference.
Taking Accountability
The rise of stupidity isn't entirely our fault. Much of it is the byproduct of our technological progress. Our brains are still wired with primitive instincts. Instincts that are easily hijacked by algorithms and misinformation. But, recognizing this doesn't absolve us. We owe it to ourselves to take personal responsibility for what we consume and choose to share.
We need a cultural shift away from glorifying hot takes, certainty, and outrage. Our focus should be nuance, humility, and the courage to admit when we're wrong. Not only do we need to do our part as individuals, but it's something we need to teach, model, and reward as a society.
Today, critical thinking is a survival skill. Bad actors, scammers, propagandists, all target millions with personalized misinformation. All of these can affect not just you, but those around you, and society.
So, if you want to survive in the age of manipulation, always remember: Be responsible, never be sure, and always be curious.
I hate paywalls. They kill curiosity and reward clickbait. That’s why the core content here will always be free.
But this takes time, thought, and energy. If it helps you see the world differently, consider supporting it by buying me a coffee or becoming a paid subscriber for exclusive content, audio versions of each essay (coming soon), and deeper dives.
Thanks for being here. Stay Curious. Question Everything.
–Luis
Awesome piece I agree. I always tell people to consider the source and think if they have something to gain by telling you something.
This is so on point, nobody wonders anymore.