Are We Becoming Stupider?

[TRF]

I was going through a whole discussion with a friend about the stupidity of people these days, but I'm rather young, so I wonder, were people always as stupid as they are now and the Internet has allowed us to see more of them, or are we generally just devolving into mindless sacks of crap? What's the cause? Is it reality television? Is it the fact that personal accountability has gone out the window?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.


Tapatalking from my bed. Ya mutha says hi.

[Royals]

No, I think we just hear about it a lot more now because of internet/tv. It's the same thing with crime.

[F34R]

I was going through a whole discussion with a friend about the stupidity of people these days, but I'm rather young, so I wonder, were people always as stupid as they are now and the Internet has allowed us to see more of them, or are we generally just devolving into mindless sacks of crap? What's the cause? Is it reality television? Is it the fact that personal accountability has gone out the window?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.


Tapatalking from my bed. Ya mutha says hi.

It really depends on why you have that opinion of some people.

[Fijiandoce]

No, I think we just hear about it a lot more now because of internet/tv. It's the same thing with crime.

i agree with this. also, its human nature that we humans congregate with those of similar intellect, we tend to get along more that way. this skews your perception of the world as the 10-20 people you might know are of similar intellect to you. your conclusion is derived from what you know (a very small sample group).

and no, this isn't any credo for human life there are always the exceptions. but as Royals said, we are using TV and Internet far more than ever before. we are getting exposed to samples far greater than 10-20.

[DINAMO788]

it all began with reality shows. Jersey Shore got like 5 times the viewers of the daily show.

[DreDayDetox]

You just watched the latest episode of The Newsroom, didn't you?

Oh, the Internet is a contributor to stupidity. Mainly being anonymous and all.

[mickice]

I believe the internet has allowed us to become smarter, the ones that desire to find answers that is.

[DreDayDetox]

It goes both ways.

[-Kwesnoth-]

Yes. The more technology is used by people to do stuff for them the less information is needed to be retained. The internet provides us with limitless amounts of information on anything, and everything so we don't have to keep that information stored in our heads when we can just look it up. Calculators make it so that we don't have to remember how to do simple math problems because we can just type it in and get the answer. Things like spell check and grammar check on Microsoft Word have the same effect.

[podsaurus]

Stupider isn't a proper word....

[UberZman]

I think that yes, people are getting "stupider". Just go find yourdelf a 5th grade school book from the 1800's.

[Blacksite]

There are as many people that are getting stupider than there are teenagers who think they have everything figured out. I'll just leave it at that.

[Vulgotha]

More stupid*


People today are more educated than they have ever been, really. IQ's have also gradually been progressing ever since we've started testing, and we've had to adjust accordingly (if what I remember reading is correct).

[TRF]

There are as many people that are getting stupider than there are teenagers who think they have everything figured out. I'll just leave it at that.

When did I say that I had everything figured out? I mean I obviously didn't know that "stupider" isn't the preferred adjective (although it is a real word).

Lemme just be clear, my idea of intelligence has nothing to do with how big one's vocabulary is, how well they can do math, how much they know about the arts, etc.

My idea of stupid is someone buying a peanut-butter filled cupcake and asking if it'll affect their peanut allergy. My idea of stupid is mistaking cruise control for autopilot while you make a sandwich in the back seat. My idea of stupidity is that someone, somewhere facilitated the need for packaged peanuts to have the "May contain nuts" label on them, and my idea of stupidity is signing a bill that would provide state funding to religious schools and not realizing that it also applied to Muslim schools.

These are all real things and they're all really stupid.

The radio plays songs about shallow love, parties, cars, and alcohol instead of politically and socially-minded songs. Television shows glamorize sheer stupidity. I know people who can't name the Vice-President of the United States. Hell, I know people that can't even name their state capital. Politicians become stupider and stupider and we keep giving them money to run nations into the ground. People still express hatred, homophobia, misogyny/misandry, racism, etc., and we love listening to people that make money off of said hatred and make us fear and despise our neighbor. We believe the bullshit we're shoveled and are so ignorant to change our minds that we cling onto fallacies because they make us comfortable.

Look, I don't know everything. I don't claim to know everything. In fact, in a lot of areas, I know jack-shit and amount to nothing. But the one thing I do know is that I'm not a moron, and that there are plenty of people who aren't morons, but there are a staggering amount of people who are morons.

I dunno, maybe it's just my generation.

[keefy]

Stupid is funny. The stupid people are here for entertainment so we can all get to laugh at their moronic antics and feel superior.

[Lethal_NFS]

I think the thread title pretty much sums it up lol.

[-Kwesnoth-]

I think the thread title pretty much sums it up lol.

Well said...and who is that woman in your avvy?

[Blacksite]

I'm not saying there isn't any bad music, movies, books or politicians. But it's not like it's exclusive to a single generation. And yeah, some people make stupid decisions and say stupid things but how would that lead you or your friend to believe that we're (as in everyone) getting dumber?

Anyways, I can't really answer this with a "yes" or "no". I don't think anyone can. But I do think the internet has a bigger influence on people and the way they behave. It just varies for everyone.

[Lethal_NFS]

Well said...and who is that woman in your avvy?

Sara Underwood. Mmm......Sara Underwood....

I could make a great joke about her name.

[-Kwesnoth-]

Sara Underwood. Mmm......Sara Underwood....

I could make a great joke about her name.

Mmmm. I figured thats who it was.

And I bet you could.

[Thorzilla]

Sara Underwood. Mmm......Sara Underwood....

I could make a great joke about her name.

I'd let her do a joke about my wood.
Wait...

[Wrath]

Stupider isn't a proper word....

Actually, "stupider" is a proper and officially accredited (albeit not commonly used) word.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stupid

[DreDayDetox]

Lol

[Rapture]

Factually speaking? No. There has only been a handful of times in history where a region or the average global population actually dropped in general intelligence, and that's not happening now.

[Kuro]

Has anybody seen Idiocracy? I get the feel were heading that way down the road..