Why does Budelacci argue that critical thinking matters more in the digital age, not less?

Because the on-screen world is more emotional, angrier and more chaotic, and emotional/irrational ways of thinking are rising — which he sees as a real threat to culture and democracy.

The argument runs: reading, writing and thinking are the core competencies of intellectual development, and the entire intellectual infrastructure of modern civilisation rests on the complex modes of thought that reading and writing make possible. The screen world pushes against this. It rewards reaction over reflection: discourse "sinks into panic and hate," and anti-scientific, non-critical thinking flourishes even at the highest levels of government. The rise of these emotional and irrational styles of thought is, in this view, a major challenge to culture and to democracy — which is why deliberately cultivating critical thinking becomes urgent rather than optional.