Amanda Montel

But today, mental magic tricks like confirmation bias, the sunk cost fallacy and the halo effect cause us to believe only the information we already agree with, double down on sketchy choices and worship mortal human beings we've never even met as all-knowing deities.

This clash between our once-useful cognitive biases and the information age is this phenomenon that I've been calling magical overthinking.

And it's a problem, because studies show that social media has damaged our mental health and our attention spans, all the while making cult-ish leaders mega-accessible.

Who needs compounds when you have comment sections?

Now, I don't say this to freak anyone out.

I'm just here to point out the difference between awe and indoctrination.

And I want to leave us with a few tips to help us do that.

First of all, when you find yourself in a space, even a digital one, where you feel really emotionally activated and you're using a lot of buzzwords that make you feel like you're part of a tribe, but you can't really define exactly what you're saying in plain English or why, that's a sign to take a step back and consult other sources.

Next, pay attention to exit costs.

Healthy groups might make leaving feel awkward, but never apocalyptic or earth-shattering.

And finally, we can use cult language for good.

Rousing chants, rhyming mantras, they can be used to make true information catchy, too.

I'm not here to take away anyone's friendship bracelets.

We need community more now than ever.

So I think, living in this cultiest era of all time, the goal is not so much to be cult-proof, it's to be cult-literate.

You follow?

Thank you.

Oh, wow.

Well, with my first book, I was just shocked and delighted that my career was taking off.

or like was getting anywhere at all.