A lot of people's "opinions" are a simple and relatively thoughtless reflection of the opinions they surround themselves with. Most do not have their own thoughts, they replicate those of others. Often, this is done unconsciously.
That's true, but I also think that one of the surrogate ways to deal with the depression is by falling into many of today's toxic ideologies.
Oh for sure! It is just another type of food to "nourish the soul". Social movements have replaced religions for many, but they don't even have to have any form of continuity as they bounce from one extreme to the other. It is easy to brainwash the desperate.