Access to every opinion can make thinking feel more informed than it actually is.

Reading a range of takes feels like thinking and is closer to sampling. You end up with several people’s conclusions and none of your own reasoning, and the sensation of being well informed is produced by exposure rather than by any work you did.

Try writing down what you think about something before you go looking. A paragraph, badly. Then read. You will notice how often your view is assembled entirely from what you consumed rather than from anything you worked out.