We see this everywhere all the time, I tend to call them herds of sheeple. They for whatever reason just go with the flow and disregard logic as the normal way of life. 
This is not always a bad thing and it is how trend setting is done but to just blindly follow is a very destructive path to walk. There are no easy answers as to how to thin the herd, the answer is self worth. Those who believe in nothing will fall for anything is an old saying that always rings true more in the digital world than the real one. 
It is much easier to hide behind a screen and go with the crowd when you can log off at the end of the day, many do that and never give it more thought. It is sad really, many people get all of their self worth just going with whatever is popular and not thinking. 
Great post as always!