On the other hand, the internet has exposed me to people who are highly skilled and blog about it who have taught me lessons I would have been unlikely to learn

On the other hand, the internet has exposed me to people who are highly skilled and blog about it who have taught me lessons I would have been unlikely to learn on my own, and would have never been able to learn from 1-on-1. Folks like Bruce Dawson, Brenden Gregg, Raymond Chen, Joel Spolsky, John Carmack, and many others. And people with strong experience to chime in on forums like HN not unfrequently. I've never had much issue taking popular opinion with a grain of salt (as least consciously), the main challenge I have is finding the right balance of time to spend online looking for the wheat in the chaff.