There's a difference between avoiding the answer, and not using critical thinking. I personally have issues with big data; it's inductive not deductive. Trump is more like PT Barnum for president than some spin doctor who uses stats to lie or contort the truth.

I hear your points, though, and when you add the lack of attention span (ADHD) and the tendency of the internet to promote opinion (blogs) before journalism, it makes for disinformation, noise, propaganda, static, etc. such that here we are--in the Information Age--worse off than ever as far as how well informed we might be on important issues.

Leamas