Social media and being thought a fool.

Thinking about social media (and indeed contemporary media in general) reminds me of Abraham Lincoln's remark that it was better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Thing is, at one time when a fool did open their mouth only those in earshot had their doubts removed. Now much of the world knows it but in most cases without directly knowing the person they now realise is a fool. So the incentives are all wrong.

Moreover, from the point of view of the listener that sad realisation was previously limited. Now you can't use many media and not realise just how many total morons there are out there.