I think it's important for us to talk about one of the most important members of the animal kingdom: the sheep. Sheep are mainly kept for their meat and their wool and often roam together in herds. Often breeds of sheep are specialized for different purposes such as their wool or milk production. The Sheep is a naturally social creature and these animals are typically raised in large groups. Sheep exert flocking dynamics which allow the sheep to group together and move as a collective unit without a single point of centralization. Those are some of the characteristics of sheep.

But let's dive deeper into herd mentally and how the sheep actually thinks. As mentioned before, the sheep is a social animal and thus their thinking is heavily influenced by society. When the sheep doesn't have a strong opinion about a certain topic, category, or thing, they tend to adopt the "social default". Even when the social default is inferior to other ideas or thoughts, the sheep adopt such thoughts and ideologies as the people they share the space with. Such behavior appears to be instinctual in nature.

But what dangers does such thinking by sheep lead to? It means that large groups of sheep are easily influenced by small groups of outsiders or wolves. The sheep can be led to believe certain things about the world even when those things aren't true or are inferior viewpoints as long as they are incubated by the herd and no opposing viewpoints are allowed in. These wolves are then allowed to manipulate the sheep however they please and often separate the weak and eat them for dinner.

While it would be nice if our sheep could think for themselves, they are naturally social creatures. They like hanging out in groups and want to fit in with the rest of the popular sheep. They will conform their viewpoints in order to fit in and avoid being left outside. For those that get left outside are vulnerable to being eaten by wolves, especially if they can't think for themselves.

Other times they might integrate into smaller more independent groups of sheep that conform by being non-conformist. Their counter-culture herd might think differently from the main herd and thus this makes them less susceptible to the majority of the wolves. However, naturally as sheep they can be easily manipulated into thinking that they are independent thinkers when they are being led and manipulated by very clever wolves.

The hungry wolves are innovators, but also manipulators. Wolves created social media and the sheep began using it. Through social media, wolves not only were able to manipulate what advertisements the sheep saw, but were able to steal the information from right under their noses. The sheep thought what they were doing was cool and they were able to create "digital herds", but that was because a select few wolves told them that it was cool. The wolves feast off the sheep's digital identity and rake in billions of dollars a year in ad revenues.

So, what is the herd up to now? What small herds are forming claiming to be against the main herd only to be led on by other wolves? Why can't the sheep form their own opinions using facts and data without being heavily reliant on those around? The sheep happily chew on their grass and roam the fields, but when decisions come, they're scare, so they resort to what they do best. They follow the leader. Even when that leader is a deceptive hungry wolf.

Sources:

Image of Sheep
Image of Wolf
Characteristics of Sheep
Forbes
Understanding The Human Herd Mentality