Our brains can't fully process the implications of the internet yet. What do you think [see details!]?

I’ve read a few articles lately explaining that being able to connect to so many people via the internet is really messing with our perception of what is popular and what isn’t.

Our brains, which are still better adapted to the way life was at least 10,000 years ago, due to the slow speed of evolution, are not used to meeting more than about 150 people in a lifetime.

When we read opinions from thousands of people on the internet, we feel like this is the prevailing opinion right now that everybody holds, even if it is actually a small minority (it’s certainly still easy to find thousands of people on the internet who all share some fringe opinion).

The articles say that this is leading to the doomful feeling some people have right now – that the world is getting meaner, or opinions are becoming more extreme, etc.

What do you think? Now that you hear this, do you see its impact on yourself? I certainly do. I’ve come to a lot of conclusions about “the world” based on what I read on the internet, and it’s comforting to hear that maybe it’s my brain playing tricks on me.