--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the most important things you…" description: "\"One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no ‘them’ out there. It’s just an awful lot of ‘us’.\" — Douglas Adams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01a/douglas-adams-122_awful_one-of-the-most-important-things-you-lea_2836262.png" --- # One of the most important things you learn from the… ![“One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no ‘them’ out there. It’s just an awful lot of ‘us’.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01a/douglas-adams-122_awful_one-of-the-most-important-things-you-lea_2836262.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01a/douglas-adams-122_awful_one-of-the-most-important-things-you-lea_2836262.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01a/douglas-adams-122_awful_one-of-the-most-important-things-you-lea_2836262.png) > “One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no ‘them’ out there. It’s just an awful lot of ‘us’.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The internet dissolves the notion of an external “other,” revealing that most interactions are among similar people. **In simple terms:** Online communities are mostly “us,” not “them.” Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity online. Themes technology society identity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - social media - online forums - virtual teams Key Concepts digital culture collective behavior Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect online empathy? - What are the risks of assuming “us” only? A Different Perspective It may overlook genuine diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) ## Related quotes > [When I get back from this book tour, I'm planning to learn the internet. 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You can reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/there-s-huge-access-to-information-if-you-need-to-learn-something-you/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [What I'd learn on the internet is not to stick in one site it will make you bored and sluggish your mind not unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yellow/what-i-d-learn-on-the-internet-is-not-to-stick-in-one-site-it-will/) Yellow > [While my cousins were gang-banging, I was trying to learn what the Internet was about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/while-my-cousins-were-gang-banging-i-was-trying-to-learn-what-the/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) > [I do most of my business on that dirty Internet that you were just talking about, where I find there is a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-drudge/i-do-most-of-my-business-on-that-dirty-internet-that-you-were-just/) [Matt Drudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-drudge/) > [I am not offering this is a critique of the internet, its just that there are a lot of factors involved. It does offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-am-not-offering-this-is-a-critique-of-the-internet-its-just-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The Internet is just a chance to do something. Nowhere else can you go, 'I have an idea, I can write this idea, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scheer/the-internet-is-just-a-chance-to-do-something-nowhere-else-can-you-go/) [Paul Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scheer/) > [The Internet is just bringing all kinds of information into the home. There's just a lot of distraction, a lot of competition for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/the-internet-is-just-bringing-all-kinds-of-information-into-the-home/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [That's mostly what the Internet is, just passing the time. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-lautner/it-s-tough-because-sometimes-you-ll-just-be-on-the-web-and-things-pop/) [Taylor Lautner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-lautner/) > [I always try and tell dudes that are younger than me is that because of the Internet everyone can just be by themselves doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-sweatshirt/i-always-try-and-tell-dudes-that-are-younger-than-me-is-that-because/) [Earl Sweatshirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-sweatshirt/) > [There is no easy way to get around horrible people on the Internet, and it's either just leave it or don't and get sucked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-williams/there-is-no-easy-way-to-get-around-horrible-people-on-the-internet/) [Maisie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-williams/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. 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"Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. 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Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. 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