You Can Tell Someone Has A Deep Mind By 11 Things They Completely Ignore On Social Media
DimaBerlin | Shutterstock Doomscrolling negative content rewires our brains in terrible ways, social media in general harms cognitive skills, and even AI dulls our humanity.
If that's not alarming enough, so many people use phones and social media as a distraction from life and the kinds of challenges that truly allow them to grow. That's why you can usually tell someone has a deep mind by the kinds of things they completely ignore on social media. They don't use it as a distraction, but lean into the reality and discomfort of life by evading the allure of stimulation online.
You can tell someone has a deep mind by 11 things they completely ignore on social media
1. Flashy headlines
voronaman | Shutterstock
According to a study from PLOS One, most headlines we see about the news and worldly events on social media are inherently clickbaity and hyper-emotional because they get the most engagement. It's highly intense, sometimes false stories that get spread the farthest, which makes the news even more draining than it typically already is.
That's why so many people with already deep-thinking and deep-feeling minds avoid this content online. Not only do they prefer to get their news offline, usually to avoid the media overload that comes from social media consumption, but they also enjoy being able to dive deeper when they choose to, instead of being forced into it by an algorithm.
They're not passive and unfeeling. They're intentional and discerning.
2. Rants and long-winded complaints
Going on social media and using it as a brain dump of all your negativity can be healthy if you turn it off, accept those feelings, release them, and move on with action. However, if you're on the other side of those rants, internalizing the feelings and absorbing the negativity, it can rewire your brain in negative ways.
Especially for smart people who are already tapping into social energy and are curious about the deeper meaning behind someone's thoughts or feelings, ignoring these complaining spirals is necessary for their health and well-being.
3. Comparison traps
While we often feel pressured to compare ourselves in unhealthy ways in real life, most of today's comparison culture starts online and follows us into our intimate, personal lives. Especially for impressionable young people or individuals struggling with low self-esteem, feeling pressured to compare themselves with the highlight reels of other people's lives can be seriously draining.
That's why they're called comparison traps. You feel trapped by unrealistic expectations, and no matter how easy it may be to acknowledge that you're seeing people only on their best days, it still creates all kinds of complex shame and guilt. Deep-thinking people understand how harmful these passive interactions and experiences can be online, so they're careful about ignoring or blocking the kinds of people that make them feel worse about themselves.
4. Attention-seeking posts
Many attention-seeking people post on social media to seek validation and approval from others. As a 2016 study explains, they're essentially asking for feedback from others, even if they don't directly verbalize their need for it. So, much like an attention-seeking person does in person, these people online create emotional burdens for their viewers and friends.
Over time, seeing and engaging with these kinds of posts can be draining, especially for intentional, deep-thinking people who can't help but read further into these interactions. That's why they tend to avoid the posts and people who bring up these draining feelings.
5. Dating apps
Perfect Wave | Shutterstock
According to a study from Computers in Human Behavior, dating app users consistently show significantly worse mental health outcomes, from depression to psychological distress. While the reasons people resort to and use dating apps are nuanced, they can prompt all kinds of negative experiences, from loneliness to lower self-esteem, and even feelings of "choice overload" that lead to superficial connections.
So, of course, intelligent people who can't stand small talk, let alone the superficial barriers to deep connections on dating apps, tend to avoid these platforms entirely.
6. Unhealthy and unproductive debates
While truly smart people with deep-thinking minds appreciate stimulating conversations and debates, they're not interested in conversing with someone only interested in being right or winning. Most of the time, they avoid socializing for the sake of it, but when they can meet with someone who stimulates their mind, they're interested.
Without the added context of tone and body language in a real conversation, it's really no surprise that these intelligent people avoid unnecessary arguments and debates on social media.
7. People who make them feel worse
A 2024 study suggests that many people who block other users on social media are aiming to create distance. Whether that's because they're disconnected in real life or simply trying to protect their own mental health by not seeing their content, it's usually the smartest people who are intentional about how they use the block button.
Especially when they aren't yet sure how to manage the desire to shame or compare themselves with people who make them feel worse on social media, sometimes removing the desire completely is the best way to deal.
8. Criticism from strangers
Negative comments and criticism on social media can seriously impact people's mental health for the worse. Even in adulthood, these judgments can be destabilizing, which is why people with deep minds are careful about the opinions and insights they let into their worlds.
Considering that most criticism from strangers is actually a defense mechanism for them to cope with insecurity, these judgments reflect us less than we realize. Yes, it's hard to avoid this criticism and not internalize it, but the smartest people can ignore and disconnect from comments and judgments that don't come from people they know and trust.
9. A desire for popularity
Photoroyalty | Shutterstock
It's easy to get sucked into the world of attention-seeking and popularity on social media, even as a mature, secure adult. At the end of the day, we all just want to feel a sense of community and belonging, but sometimes, on social media, we're pressured and allured by the wrong spaces and desires.
Our brains' reward systems crave admiration and status, especially as we get older in this culture, but the smartest people push back against that natural desire with intentional connection and work on personal self-esteem. Instead of seeking instant rewards and gratification from social media, they look to tangible personal interests and relationships to feel secure.
10. Oversharing
Whether it's constantly being privy to other people's attention-seeking behaviors or putting their own privacy at risk by oversharing on social media, this kind of openness can have all kinds of hidden consequences and risks.
According to a study from Psychological Reports, anxiety and unhealthy social media relationships are all associated with oversharing online. So, even when it offers a fleeting sense of security and validation, it usually only ends up harming people's self-esteem over time.
11. Toxic algorithms
Algorithms are often what bring us the kinds of content we're interested in, but they can also cultivate all kinds of toxic relationships between people and their phones.
On top of all the toxic pressures that urge people to spend too much time online, a 2021 study argues that algorithms also tend to push toxic, misogynistic content toward young users online. So, deep-thinking people might be able to notice when they're being fed these narratives and ideas over and over again, but for the average person, it's easy to fall into the spiral.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
