Superficial Powers: Meet The Illiterati

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Avid Reader; photo by Micaela Parente on Unsplash…

In this hive of scum and villainy we call the Internet, you’ve likely met all shades of dubious characters: trolls, stalkers, spies, Republicans. Here’s one group that’s not nearly as harmful but just as annoying…

The illiterati are people who refuse to read yet act like they do. They fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. Social media users who share articles they haven’t read.

I once endured a terrible marketing article — pure drivel — shared by someone I followed on Twitter. Since he seemed like a smart guy, I asked why he shared it. He confessed that he hadn’t read it, but the headline contained “good keywords” to attract new followers. So, of course, I unfollowed him. You’ll find millions of such illiterati on Twitter (X) or LinkedIn, regularly sharing articles without comment. Contrary to what they might believe, that doesn’t make them “experts”; it makes them professional regurgitators. And that title just doesn’t look great on a resumé.

2. Social media users who like or comment on posts they haven’t read.

These illiterati were baited by a 2014 April Fools joke by National Public Radio, which posted a link on Facebook to an article entitled, “Why Doesn’t America Read Anymore?” The post garnered 1,700 comments, even though the article itself encouraged readers NOT to comment on it. Rumor has it that those who commented on the post eventually went on to vote for Trump.

3. People who follow you on social media with zero intention of reading your posts.

Their goal, of course, is to have you follow them back out of courtesy, so that you may read their posts on how to succeed.

4. Self-published authors who don’t like to read.

I’ve met quite a few of these, ranging from recent college grads to seasoned execs. They all want to boast that they wrote a book… even though they hired a ghost writer to do the deed. (I know; I used to be a ghost writer.) Ask them about their favorite books, and they’ll name an assigned reading from a college course, which they’ll remember full well from the Cliff Notes. But, hey, they have a book up on Amazon, which makes them an “author.”

5. Self-proclaimed experts in topics they haven’t formally studied.

You’ll find these illiterati infesting conversations throughout LinkedIn. They often anoint themselves with titles such as “thought leader,” “visionary,” or “guru.” As management educator Peter Drucker once said, “We are using the word ‘guru’ only because ‘charlatan’ is too long to fit into a headline.” (The Drucker Institute quotes him as saying that we use “guru” because “charlatan” is too hard to spell.) In some circles, this type of illiterati is known as a “Gary Vee.”

On that note, here’s a double martini toast to everyone who does take the time to read. You rule, and I doff my (pen) cap to you!