You are the average of 5000 idiots on the Internet

Much like an AI model, your brain is incredibly elastic and constantly shaped by external inputs. Hence, the old adage: you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Today, though, your primary influences aren't friends—they're online. 

And unfortunately, the internet is mostly populated by idiots.

Idiots spewing pointless, algorithm-amplified slop directly into your brain. Sure, there are brilliant minds online, but they're drowned out by overwhelming idiocy. Scroll through your own social media or group chats: cliché quotes, irrelevant celebrity videos, arbitrary coffee rankings, superficial geopolitical takes—none of it adds real value. Your primal brain might briefly enjoy this junk, but your conscious self recognizes its emptiness, and your mental and cognitive health pay the price.

Just take a look at this sampling of my social media and group chat feeds, and assess if there's any ounce of value or relevance:


Constantly consuming this mindless content inevitably transforms you into another attention-deficit, media-addicted idiot. Just as 24/7 cable TV scrambled past generations' brains, today's social media and messaging apps do it faster and more aggressively.

Want to avoid turning into an idiot?

Be extremely selective about your mental diet. Avoid or heavily filter default internet junk. Unfollow, mute, or rage quit platforms and group chats that endlessly push shallow content without your consent. Instead, actively seek relevant, insightful, challenging content from genuine experts—usually found in books, essays, newsletters, or thoughtful films. A good sign you're consuming quality content: it's harder, because it's working your brain.

Prioritize quality over quantity; depth over breadth. Spend less time glued to your screen and more exploring the real world—walking, talking, thinking, creating, and experiencing life firsthand, without incessant, idiotic commentary.

You can shield yourself from idiocy or join its ranks. The choice is yours.


Notes: 

1. I use “idiots” not to insult, but simply as a blunt descriptor. If intelligence is unevenly or normally distributed, the majority of the world are idiots relatively speaking. And because of their scale, free time, Dunning-Kruger, and craving for recognition, they are even more overrepresented on the Internet. And every one of us, including someone seemingly as smart as Elon Musk, is part idiot too, in more domains and mental states than not. The mass internet and social media are incentivized and designed to draw out the idiots and idiot self in all of us, both as creators and consumers, to maximize scale and engagement.

Popular posts from this blog

Careful what you wish for

There’s a certain pressure to have goals and wants; to do and achieve something with our lives. We make it a point of asking kids and adults what their goals are. What do you want to be when you grow up?! What are your new year resolutions?! Where do you see yourself in 5 years?!  There are benefits of having a future vision, but it comes at a price. Every want and goal can take up time and mind space, and make you defer contentment and just be-ing. So you need to be more intentional about the wants you pick up consciously, or often, subconsciously. I know at least a handful of people who have wanted to be managers, advisors, or startup founders. They like the idea of it - the title or the perception of being a leader. But they end up disliking the job. I know people, myself included, who want to have a good community and circle of friends, but hate the process of meeting new people. Most people want to look fit but dislike the routine of exercise and diet.  For all your curre...
Continue reading »

How to Use Prompt Engineering to Rewire Your Brain

Even the most ardent free-willers will have to confront the origins of their will at some point.  Have you ever wondered what shapes your mind and behaviors? The influences that nudge us towards success or failure, happiness or despair? What makes our life unfold in the way it does? Let me share a mysterious experience from my high school years that puzzled me for a long time and only started making sense to me years later. MAX  When I was in grade 10, I went to a large book fair with my family. Like all events in India, it was bustling with people and energy. In the midst of the chaos, my family and I were drawn towards the stage that was particularly abuzz. The stage banner displayed the name ‘MAX’, short for 'Madras Academy for Excellence'. A group of people, who were national memory record-holders no less, were captivating the audience with their ability to quickly memorize long lists of words or facts and answer any questions about them. I was impressed and intrigued beca...
Continue reading »