Video Essay: Why Online Debates Are Making Us Dumber

The Internet promised us enlightened discourse. Instead, we got PhDs arguing with anime avatars about gay frogs.

New video essay: how social media’s engagement algorithms, psychological traps, and platform mechanics combine to make us collectively dumber through the trap of online “debate.”

From the Dunning-Kruger Death Spiral to the Psychology of Doubling Down, this is why the very act of arguing on the Internet is degrading our ability to think clearly about complex issues.

Learn why:

• Social platforms operate like casinos, rewarding conflict over clarity
• Being wrong gets amplified, while being right gets ignored
• The more we debate online, the less we actually understand
• Individual good faith can’t fix a systemically broken system

Plus: A practical guide to escaping the discourse trap and finding better ways to develop genuine understanding. For anyone who’s ever wondered why Twitter arguments never change minds, this is your wake-up call.