We Don't Think, We Just Consume.

Lately, I've been noticing something new in job interviews—candidates come in "prepared," but in a strange way. They get an hour to prepare, and they use it to pull as much information as possible from ChatGPT. Then they confidently present it to me. They mention a metric that, according to them, is crucial for evaluating advertising performance. But when I ask them what the metric actually tells us, they don’t know. They have no idea how to calculate it.

I've never had so many interviews where I had to teach candidates the meaning of a key metric in online advertising. Never.

But let’s be clear—this is not the same as when calculators were introduced. You can work with someone who doesn’t understand logarithms. But you can’t seriously discuss or collaborate with someone who doesn’t even understand which two numbers to divide to get meaningful insight in advertising. You just can’t.

And it’s not just interviews. More and more, I feel like real thinking is fading away. People don’t form their own ideas anymore; they just adopt prepackaged opinions that flood them from all directions. Information is instantly accessible, and it requires no effort from us.

Many believe they have broad knowledge because they follow multiple sources. But I have my doubts. Real thinking takes effort. Thinking deeply about something means spending time questioning, challenging established views, and arriving at your own conclusions.

When Even Criticism Is Just Another Form of Consumption

One of the defining traits of our time is that even criticism has become a form of consumption. People adopt someone else’s objections, repeat them, and feel like they’ve engaged in critical thinking. In reality, they’ve just absorbed another version of a ready-made product.

I get the sense that this is tied to a fear of independent thinking.

Real thinking comes with risk. You might reach conclusions that are unpopular or that don’t fit into any of the accepted frameworks. Thinking outside those boundaries carries the risk of being misunderstood, disagreed with, or even socially excluded.

The world has sped up. Instant reactions are expected. People don’t have time to sit down and think because, by the time they would reach their own analysis, the internet has already moved on to the next topic. Being slow means being outdated—irrelevant. This creates an environment where it’s easier to just consume and repeat rather than think and create.

For some, breaking out of this cycle might not be easy, but it is possible. It just takes small steps. Giving yourself time to think instead of reacting instantly. Not rushing to form an opinion just for the sake of having something to say.

Asking yourself where your thoughts really come from. Are they truly yours?