Are people getting dumber?

[Leapfrog00]

I find myself having to dumb down my vocabulary around many people. Some people, I have to talk slower to.

One day someone saw me reading a mystery novel, and I swear, they asked me what it was I was holding. I said uh, a book? Then she said, "oh, I never read one of those". Honestly, I'm surprised she knew that you're supposed to read it!

I've been around people also that didn't understand what I was saying, like they asked me a question, and didn't understand the answer I provided.

The other day, I was reading this article about how females don't knit anymore, no one makes their own clothing, and even guys are being stay at home moms, and the article also said that many people don't want to work anymore either. Now I understand nobody wants to work for peanuts, or maybe they don't want to work at all, maybe that's more of a laziness thing there, but I swear, I met some stupid people that couldn't work a simple job.

The area I live in, I've lived here for a few months and these people lack common sense. The drug dealers around here sell drugs in front of the cameras, and sometimes when the police cars are right out in front of the building. There's a lot of crime around here.
I swear, people are getting dumber!

[Soteris]

*Shrugs* There are so many angles I can approach this from. First of all, humans are dumb.. like REALLY dumb. That is true, but not for the reasons you appear to think. Like for example, vocabulary has nothing to do with intelligence or even intellectual conversations. In fact, the "dumbing down" of vocabulary is just how languages evolve and why we dont speak like a shakespearian play right now. Words will be "cut" from our internal dictionary and replaced with new words that has more meaning in our modern society.

Acronyms like BRB for example or how "newbie" was created around 1970's and then became "noob" in 2000's etc.. rather than "newcomer", "new"(1909) or "newie"(1946). With the new forms of communication such as short form text messages, emoji and all the other forms employed on the internet you will see language enter a period of hyper evolution to keep up with these new forms of usages and the new requirements and you are going to feel OLD very quickly as the language you grew up with is no longer considered "normal". This is just the price you pay for living during a technological revolution I am afraid.

Same with you noticing how people nowdays dont knit or make their own clothes or whatever else. This is also normal. You for example do not grind your own flour every morning or cut wood or any other number of chores like what was commonly done back in history. The fact that we are leaving behind hobbies or chores is normal and something that we once again have always done historically.

What you are experiencing here is not people being dumb, it is that you are getting old and losing touch with the progress of society. You can no longer relate to how young people think and feel anymore and that makes you feel alienated and makes no sense in your eyes.

To quote a wise man:

[genericname85]

probably. cause intelligence is a high biological energy investment. if the environment doesn't require intelligence, intelligence won't be developed in an animal. you can actually measure a gradient between more favourable to less favourable living conditions. so in the colder and more barren areas towards the poles, people get more intelligent and toward the equator, where plants grow all year round, people get less intelligent.

[inhua]

no. people have always been dumb. being educated =/= being smart

[jshm2]

No. You are getting more out of touch, and pretentious.

[Dargil]

Not in terms of brain capabilities, but the media and schools are encouraging ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Some people actually believe Biden beat Trump in a free and fair election without any shenanigans. The same people also believe a man can become a woman.

[In_Trance]

yeah