People do not think, in my opinion, enough anymore. There is so much focus on (i) replying and (ii) appearance

I absolutely agree. Too much focus on answering, not listening and thinking. Although some people do expect people to say at least something, which is also in some cases a bit weird. But in a face to face conversation it's vital to know when to listen quietly, when to listen actively (I call saying um, oh, yes, no -words when someone is talking, active listening, although doing that too much is really annoying), when a comment is needed and does that comment need to have any solution to a problem or not. It's tricky but, as you said, if only people would listen more not thinking about what they are going to answer. And face to face conversation is also when an artist is talking with their art. Art / spectator conversation. "Panic! What am I going to say about this art?!"

But when talking about talking in the internet, it also may be that at this informative age, as we now know what someone on the other side of the earth, an some old schoolmate or previous neighbor, and hundreds of other people, say out loud, people who we never meet, only read their comments somewhere, it gives a wider understanding of all the people and about their opinions, and as they are not the people we have chosen to be in our precious bubble, their opinion, (or in this case their way of not thinking about things enough) comes right to our face and we are appalled about the fact and think that people do not think.

At least I am, almost every other day, I read something for instance from Twitter and I think to myself: "Wow, what is wrong with people, if they would just think about this, even a little bit, they would realize stuff and how stupid that sounds / is." And then I crawl back to my bubble that I've made comfy and cozy for me.

Fortunately there are (lots and lots, I believe and hope) like minded people with whom I can have interesting conversations with. Like here, in Hive. Now. :)

But I can go on about this for too long!

Yeah. I know. Me too it seems.

even the absence of meaning, lies with the reader.

That is absolutely true! Art is so much more than just the painting in the wall, just the performance on the street or an dance show in the TV. It is given to the spectator and the spectator has a huge role in the conversation with the art. So not understanding it may mean that the spectator just doesn't even think. About anything. Because there's no wrong way to comprehend art. Art just is, the artist may or may not have something to say, lets go of the art at some point and from there on, it's the readers or spectators turn.

if I had more time to read up on all the theories in art

Oh no, I'm starting to feel like I haven't prepared for our conversation at all, I've just answered how I feel and what I remember reading. See, I felt a pressure to answer correctly so that my answer makes me more important than the fact that I could just listen and think. Oh no. :) We've come to a full circle.