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For millennia, if you were to ask someone who their biggest influence was, they’d probably answer with someone in their family or a close friend. That is far from the reality, today.
I’ve grown up in a digital age. I have few memories from a time before I got my Nintendo DS. And I’ve also grown up in an age in which we were in isolation for over a year.
While weird to admit, I spent much more time watching my favorite creators than talking with my friends during COVID.
Ali Abdaal, Matt D’Avella, Nathaniel Drew, Lana Blakely — these are just a few of the people who have had massive influences on me through their content.
Have I met any of them? Never. Nonetheless, they’ve left a lasting imprint on the way I approach the world. That’s not even to mention the authors of my favorite books. Marcus Aurelius, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant — more people who I’ve never met but who have massively shaped my life.
The reality is that with more methods to communicate with the world, it’s no longer our friends that influence us most. It’s the content we consume.
You’ve probably heard the phrase that you’re the average of your five closest friends. While this idea is largely inaccurate in its specifics, its general message is true: we are shaped by the people we spend time with.
