Americans ARE getting Dumber

[fingercuffs]

Great time to cut $600 million in grants.

 

[badascan]

Lower IQ people are multiplying at a higher rate? The US imported losers and criminals from around the world for years. Teachers unions aren't helping, nor are the governmental bodies. We can't hold certain communities to higher standards for whatever reason or more importantly they don't hold themselves to high standards... Poison in the food and water and air and ground, etc.

 

[Natural Order]

Society used to have natural filters in place to prevent the 80% of human retards from starting an echo chamber and ruining it for everybody.

Thanks internet.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

Americans are easily the dumbest first world population.

 

[pugilistico]

Yes, haven't you seen those videos where the guy asks basic questions to young adults and they're completely clueless.
He'll say what countries border the United States? They'll go uhhhhhhh England.
Or he'll ask who fought in the American Civil War? They'll go uhhhhhh USA and Russia.
Or he'll ask if I drive 60 miles per hour for one hour, how far have I traveled? They'll say uhhhhhh 20 minutes.

I've met people who think other countries are US states. They don't know what year the war of 1812 was. They don't know who the first US president was. And of course there are the flat earthers. What's crazy is that I knew this kind of basic knowledge when I was really young. I knew more about WW2 history at 13 than most college kids these days know.

It's all fun and games to rag on stupid people and their laziness but I think this currently is and going to further affect various aspects of society. Social media addiction and the ease of momentary gratification affects how people have relationships. There is a growing gap between low performing and high performing students. There is a growing gap between the rich and poor.

Lower IQ people are multiplying at a higher rate? The US imported losers and criminals from around the world for years. Teachers unions aren't helping, nor are the governmental bodies. We can't hold certain communities to higher standards for whatever reason or more importantly they don't hold themselves to high standards... Poison in the food and water and air and ground, etc.

When I was growing up, the best and brightest from other parts of the world came to America for education and work. Now I don't know.

 

[Jesus X]

My nieces and nephews are pretty dumb they are ipad gen z/ alpha kids it really is like idiocracy where I was an average joe and the next generation is dumber making me seem smarter even though I'm average. I was also outbred by my dumber relatives idiocracy style.

 

[5crew]

People also seem to rely on AI for answers more and more instead of researching stuff on google. When I went to college, reading wikipedia was considered the lazy route, but now kids can't even do that and want chat gtp to give them easy to digest answers. The problem is that AI still gets a lot of stuff wrong and with the lack of critical thinking these days, people may just going to believe whatever AI tells them.

Funny this is part of your OP, because I just had a 30mins+ debate with friends whether chatgpt gave me the correct Math formula which I forgot. Couple of months ago, my friend questioned another answer of chatgpt as well and we know for a fact the calculation is incorrect.

While we use AI for assistance, a few of my friends still questions the answers. I doubt most people does that, probably just take what the AI says as fact/correct to copy and paste.

I have mentioned the below in multiple threads over the years now.
The reason why people are "dumber" is because we don't need to remember shit anymore. We just Google the information/answer, apply what is needed and forget about it. Don't know what to do if your sink is clogged? Youtube it, follow step by step to fix it in under 20mins, do this again 10 years down the road. Don't know where ABC facilities is located at? Google Map it and follow the GPS, do it again next week, since we don't need to understand what we are doing, just follow.

20 years ago, we learn and retain the knowledge because it takes time to obtain the information and we actually understand why/what we are doing. Now, everything is 5s and a few clicks away. We get it, use it and forget it as quickly. We no longer need to depend on ourselves, so obviously we got "lazier" and "dumber" on facts/information.

 

[Deaths Head]

I've joked around that Americans have gotten dumber and chalked it up as confirmation bias when I encountered stupidity. I was astounded by those videos where people ask college kids basic general knowledge questions and they don't know basic stuff like what countries make up North America, or how many planets there are. I chalked these up to the content creators picking and choosing particularly stupid kids or editing the videos in a skewed manner.

But it seems the data is evident of an alarming trend: people are actually are getting dumber.

American literacy and numeracy rates have fallen in recent years. 54% of Americans read below a 6th grade reading level. 21% are illiterate.


This video mentions changes in the education system and phone usage as well as a lack of tech/media literacy.

One of the most annoying trends for me is the lack of literacy on social media. You could post say, the sale of your used bicycle clearly outlining the model and price, and you'll still have people asking you what model it is and how much it is. I see a trend of people not knowing how to take a second to read the description. I would say this isn't just an American problem, but a global phenomenon since everybody in the entire planet is hooked on social media now.

I've talked about before how it seems like the younger generation doesn't know how to use the technology in their hands either. With each subsequent generation, the new generation loses skills of previous generations but the trade off is that become more tech savvy. But this new generation seems like they don't even know how to be tech savvy either. Other than tik tok and asking chat GTP things, they don't seem know that their phones can access a vast wealth of information. I've had younger people ask me stuff that could be easily found on google. I expected that I would have to teach my grandmother how to use her phone, but not 20 year olds.

People also seem to rely on AI for answers more and more instead of researching stuff on google. When I went to college, reading wikipedia was considered the lazy route, but now kids can't even do that and want chat gtp to give them easy to digest answers. The problem is that AI still gets a lot of stuff wrong and with the lack of critical thinking these days, people may just going to believe whatever AI tells them.

I'll note that another factor is that now google likes to give you answers generated by AI and/or sponsored content, which might take more effort to filter through than in the past. A lot stuff is also blocked by a paywall which doesn't help.

I know it's cliché of older generations to rag on the new generation for becoming stupider, lazier, weaker, etc. but I am starting to think the new generations are fucked. I used to think newer generations would be at least intellectually smarter, have more critical thinking skills, and be more tech savvy, but I am not sure that is the case now. Kids play outside less now, people are less connected to nature, more socially awkward, they read much less, get stuck in intellectual echo chambers online, become addicted to social media and less capable of researching information on their own. The new generation does seem to be getting lazier and weaker but without the tradeoff of tech savviness and critical thinking skills.

What do you guys think?

TLDR version because reading is hard:
1. Literacy and numeracy rates in the US have gone down due to issues in the education system.
2. People are addicted to their phones and social media.
3. People have shorter attention spans to read or pick up details even if they're clearly stated.
4. People have less critical thinking skills - online echo chambers.
5. Reliance on AI - less tech literacy.
6. People have overall less practical/real world skills on top of having less soft skills like critical thinking and social awareness.
7. We're just getting stupider/less capable in every dimension.

Well all you had to do is see how the presidency was won and who the majority voted Trump in that would give anyone where this era stands on intelligence .

 

[Deaths Head]

I don’t think it’s exclusively an American thing. I think it’s people in general

Well it’s definitely an American thing that’s actually real , look who won the presidential election and see above as well . Lol

 

[Deaths Head]

Dumber? Disagree with that term.
I'd say lazier, more apathetic, shameless and full of excuses why they won't or can't do something.

It depends how you define dumber ? If it’s defined by lack of logic and critical thinking abilities then it’s a big yes we are definitely overall dumbed down in 2025 . Imagine if we didn’t have social media it would be even worse because then even less information would available to research at one’s fingertips .

 

[pugilistico]

Funny this is part of your OP, because I just had a 30mins+ debate with friends whether chatgpt gave me the correct Math formula which I forgot. Couple of months ago, my friend questioned another answer of chatgpt as well and we know for a fact the calculation is incorrect.

While we use AI for assistance, a few of my friends still questions the answers. I doubt most people does that, probably just take what the AI says as fact/correct to copy and paste.

I have mentioned the below in multiple threads over the years now.
The reason why people are "dumber" is because we don't need to remember shit anymore. We just Google the information/answer, apply what is needed and forget about it. Don't know what to do if your sink is clogged? Youtube it, follow step by step to fix it in under 20mins, do this again 10 years down the road. Don't know where ABC facilities is located at? Google Map it and follow the GPS, do it again next week, since we don't need to understand what we are doing, just follow.

20 years ago, we learn and retain the knowledge because it takes time to obtain the information and we actually understand why/what we are doing. Now, everything is 5s and a few clicks away. We get it, use it and forget it as quickly. We no longer need to depend on ourselves, so obviously we got "lazier" and "dumber" on facts/information.

You're right we just follow instructions now. A part of learning is to make mistakes and learn from them but now we get perfect answers every time. Spell check features have shown to be a hinderance to learning how to spell for instance.

Once I asked chat gtp to give me a list of sea creatures and it included freshwater fish species. I noticed this because I am familiar with some species and had to google it just to be sure but I imagine a lot of people wouldn't even question it.

I also asked it for ukulele chords and once it gave me guitar chords, some of which were outright wrong.

 

[PBAC]

Idk but most of my teachers tended to teach a class based on their personal issues of the day. I had one who would repeat how no one believed a dyslexic could teach. If you used a word like stupd, or tick in class your grades would go down without explanation. Youd end up with a lack of consistency since youd put the right answer but get told its wrong. In college i recieved a 0.1 for one paragraph because talking about the EU i said countries instead of states. In the next paragraph i used state and they said i ahould have used countries. My point is a lot of education stratgeies whether too tough or too easy just seem like bs ... or biased and not really anout education.

 

[Berserker13]

Yeah, they're democrats....

 

[Berserker13]

only closet ho,os obsess this much

 

[GSP_37]

I watch a cable channel that often talks to people at rallies or on the street and I can believe tons of Americans are dumb as shit and then you throw in the shit character their families instill in them.

 

[zapataxiv]

probably, I am dumber than my parents.

 

[AFanNotAFighter]

It depends how you define dumber ? If it’s defined by lack of logic and critical thinking abilities then it’s a big yes we are definitely overall dumbed down in 2025 . Imagine if we didn’t have social media it would be even worse because then even less information would available to research at one’s fingertips .

I'm defining intelligence by a human being's innate I.Q.
I didn't grow up with internet so we used the library and newspapers and magazines for information as well as talking to others knowledgeable about subjects we were interested in.
I think lack of logic/critical thinking skills relates to what I said earlier about rampant apathy.

 

[tgv976]

It's a western civilization thing and it's all by design. Look up the biggest internet search results from teenagers. Western countries it's tiktok, YouTube, and Instagram BS. China it's STEM topics. Whoever controls the media and schools controls the mind.

 

[TheNinja]

Well it’s definitely an American thing that’s actually real , look who won the presidential election and see above as well . Lol

Trump still living rent free in your head huh ? You one of those guys that’s blames everything on political party and trump?
I cannot understand this line of thinking at all. Move on with your life man.

 

[I Am Legion]

Isn't the difference between your day and today just one less track?

Seems like now there's 3 "tracks": Special Ed, regular, and advanced. In your day, there were 4.

Also, are you suggesting advanced courses don't exist anymore? Because that'd be the only way that schools could "hold back smart kids," like you bizarrely stated. If so, please provide evidence of several large school districts doing away with them. Thanks.

No, many schools do not have tracks at all. There will always be a class for special needs kids. But the rest of the kids are all in groups, not separated by levels. They have paths which group a direction of classes together based on your choice. Some are more humanities, some are more math-oriented paths etc. Many districts got rid of AP classes. Many districts decided to pool all kids together. Simple google search shows it. I have friends in education, so I have been hearing about it for years. Kids have been pushed through that do not deserve it, and others have not been properly challenged. Some of it is budgetary, other times its a philosophy.