We currently live under extremely heavy information overload. Constantly, day by day, 24/7.
I'm fairly sure this is intentional.
For example, average lifespan of Reddit post is about a day, maybe a bit more. All of social media is constantly regurgitating the same points over and over, arguing about the same topics over and over again, ad infinitum. Which is exactly the point of it all. Create overload so heavy and intense, that nothing really matters anymore.
Human mind is incapable to operate properly under such pressure. There's tons of info unloaded into our heads daily. Good info, bad info. Wholesome info, unwholesome info. Most importantly, lots of it. Hell, I can't even remember when was the last time I was actually bored. Like, not intentionally going out to touch grass or consciously avoiding media, but simply bored... with nothing to do. That kind of thing simply does not happen anymore. There is no reflection, no idle thinking about this or that, unless one consciously decides to do that.
That's the reason why instead of relying on facts, logic, rationality and common sense, most people simply give up and resort to trusting some kind of authority. For some it is government or science. For others it could be some kind of new-age guru or some other truth sayer. It does not matter. What matters is that people have outsourced their reason to someone else. Which is exactly how they want it to be.
In Soviet Russia one single article criticizing the government could travel underground from hand to hand for years. It would be read and reread. It would be illegally reprinted or even rewritten by hand. These days, however, a single article no matter how truthful or how damaging does not mean anything. Hell, even ten or hundred articles mean almost nothing. Everything is being reduced to screaming contest. Whoever makes the loudest or most authoritative scream wins.
TLDR: Constant informational buzz is a psyop of sorts. It is being created intentionally in order to suppress clear and rational though process, to prevent masses from thinking for themselves.
I agree with the premise of your post.
But I think you should add on a discussion about attention span.
Someone with a long attention span can focus on one topic of study for a very long time. Maybe even years.
There's some people who try to learn a little bit about everything. There's other people who try to learn everything about one thing.
I have known people who were heavily specialized in one topic or field but completely stupid in everything else. I'm talking about high level executives that could manage a half billion dollar organization's finances but couldn't figure out how a toilet lever connects to the flapper with a chain. LOL I am heavily specialized in impalement. Otherwise I am generally a know a little bit about everything jack of all trades kinda guy.
Also, there's people who want content delivered to them and curated for them. There's other that seek out specific content for themselves. If you sit around and just want netflix or TV to feed you content, you're going to be fed mostly shit. But if you seek out content yourself, you will discover interesting information. Usually I want to seek out and curate content for myself and be in control.
This website is sort of designed for short attention spans. Good posts get buried and replaced by newer posts. New posts move into the HOT section too quickly.
Also, people are just inherently too lazy to read today. Most of my comments probably get skipped by the TLDR crowd. I type fast. I was never as fast a reader as my peers because i like to think about what I'm reading and other related thoughts pop into my head while I am reading so it is a patient exercise. Or I have to pause and dwell on what i read to picture it in my mind. Others probably read differently. When I read novels, it takes me much longer than my friends to read the same book. I even re-read paragraphs sometimes to try to fill in details of how i imagine the plot and setting.
Oh, yes, attention span is a big part ot it. To make it as short as possible is also one of the goals of this constant flood of information.
Of course some people will be more inclined to think deeply and some others won't. The point is that it's the general direction what matters. Currently general direction is to think as little as possible up to the point where all your critical thinking is essentially outsourced to someone else. Sure, some people will resist it (like us), but most won't and that's the real purpose of it all.
Yep, I too am kind of a know everything a bit guy (except that impalement thing of yours) and I too prefer to find information on my own.
Also, one other thing I didn't mention in OP is energy consumption. In addition to fucking up our brains, this information overload consumes enormous amounts of energy. Consider all that gigantic amount of energy poured into endless screaming contests and repeating the same things over and over again on a daily basis. Imagine what could be achieved if not for this waste of energy.
Basically, fruitless non-stop consumption and generation of information is just as they want it to be. Masses are too exhausted and brain fog from constant info buzz is too heavy for any meaningful change to happen.