Once upon a time, being curious was a virtue. People read books to expand their horizons, asked questions that challenged the status quo, and debated ideas not for the sake of winning but to understand. Thoughtfulness was admired. Knowledge was power.
Today, things feel different.
We live in a culture where thinking deeply is often dismissed as “boring” or even “elitist.” People are praised for being entertaining, quick-witted, and “real,” but rarely for being wise. It’s not that we’ve stopped thinking entirely—it’s that we’ve redefined what counts as thinking. The rise of anti-intellectualism has made it fashionable to distrust experts, mock curiosity, and flatten complex issues into soundbites and hashtags.
It’s worth asking: When did thinking fall out of style?
A Culture That Distrusts Depth
Anti-intellectualism isn’t new. It’s been quietly running underneath American culture for decades, surfacing whenever people felt threatened by change or challenged by new ideas. But in recent years, it has gained strength in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
The internet, for all its promise, hasn’t helped. Social media platforms reward us for being loud and fast, not careful and deep. Algorithms serve up content that reinforces what we already believe, making it easy to confuse confidence with competence. Meanwhile, celebrities and influencers—many with little interest in history, science, or literature—have become cultural authorities. It’s easier to follow their lead than to engage with books or ideas that might complicate our worldview.
We’re living in an age of curated realities, where questioning anything too deeply can get you labeled as “negative,” “overthinking,” or “trying too hard.” Reflection requires effort, and effort feels out of step with a world obsessed with convenience.
But the consequences of rejecting thoughtfulness are already showing.
The Casualties of Shallow Thinking
Perhaps the most obvious casualty is reading.
Books ask too much, we tell ourselves. Who has time for 300 pages when there’s a perfectly good YouTube summary or a trending TikTok explainer? We skim headlines, scroll past articles, and prefer bite-sized commentary to nuanced arguments.
The problem isn’t just that people aren’t reading—it’s that we’re losing the habit of reflection. Reading forces us to slow down, to sit with ideas we might not immediately understand or agree with. Without that practice, our ability to think critically erodes. We become easy prey for misinformation, drawn to whatever opinion sounds the loudest or feels the most familiar.
Anti-intellectualism thrives in this environment. It whispers that deep thinking is unnecessary, that knowledge is overrated, and that anyone who insists otherwise is out of touch.
When Thinking Becomes a Radical Act
There’s a reason authoritarian regimes fear books and intellectuals. Thoughtful people are harder to manipulate. They ask inconvenient questions. They notice when something doesn’t add up.
But even in democratic societies, there’s a subtler push to discourage deep thought. We’re taught to prioritize productivity over contemplation, entertainment over education, and confidence over competence. It’s no wonder thinking feels like an act of rebellion.
The truth is, thinking is rebellious in a culture designed to keep us distracted. And reading—real, sustained, cover-to-cover reading—might be one of the most radical acts left.
Reclaiming Thoughtfulness
If thinking has fallen out of style, it’s up to us to make it fashionable again—not because it looks good, but because it’s essential to our humanity.
We can start small. Read one book a month, even if it feels slow. Seek out voices that challenge us instead of only reinforcing what we already believe. Ask questions—not to win arguments, but to understand the world and ourselves more fully.
In a world that wants us to scroll endlessly, choose stillness. In a culture that rewards outrage, choose curiosity.
Because the cost of abandoning thought is too high. Without it, we lose more than books—we lose our ability to recognize truth, to imagine better futures, and to connect deeply with one another.
The rise of anti-intellectualism may have made thinking unfashionable, but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. Quite the opposite. The ability to think critically, to engage deeply, and to reflect is what makes us fully human.
And maybe, just maybe, bringing that back starts with picking up a book.
I have dispensed this same information in video format:
