The Dumbing Down of Society

[Dr Hu Dunnit]

Who here believes that society, I am speaking of the USA since it is where I live, is being purposefully "dumbed-down" so it can be more easily controlled by the Government? If we are being taught in school only what they want us being taught (less emphasis on math, science, history and writing, more about the psychological things...this is really hard to explain, btw...especially in the formative years, elementary and middle/junior high), feelings are being promoted over facts and a fight for mediocrity over trying to be better and better, what better way to control the masses when doubt is formed and most people just go with what is being told instead of THINKING about it for one minute? Was that too much of a convoluted run-on sentence? I tried not to do it. Did I make sense? Thoughts anyone?

[bubblykiss]

Think civilization is making you dumb?

Fight it by not reading, enjoying a sunny apathy filled life wherein entropy pools all around your consumption enhanced lifestyle that is riddled with credit debt asa constant stream of steaming piles of reality t.v.

Edited September 8, 2014 by bubblykiss

[Ashotep]

Even though we are advancing in leaps and bounds when it comes to technology I bet if we had a disaster where we didn't have access to this technology people would find out how dumb they really are.

[The Id3al Experience]

Even though we are advancing in leaps and bounds when it comes to technology I bet if we had a disaster where we didn't have access to this technology people would find out how dumb they really are.

Yes we are getting technology smarter, my 5 year old nephew already knows how to operate a smart phone. But I feel we are losing vital survival skills, and real life training. And becoming more virtual people in a sense of the word.

[DONTEATUS]

HEres the real dumbing down of our world !

[Dr Hu Dunnit]

Do I even want to see what that is??

[+HerNibs]

Do I even want to see what that is??

Nope.

Nibs

[+and-then]

Hi, Hu! (sorry, couldn't resist) welcome to UM! Yes

[JVG]

Walk into any Wal-Mart put on Jerry Springer or any other trash that on the air waves these days. Drive any where any state and where did courtesy go on are highways. How about customer courtesy another thing that is on life support. The list goes on and on...

[Dr Hu Dunnit]

To put into context, like Jack Nicholson said in Batman... "This town needs an enema"...but in this case it is "country".

[Whisperer]

Same old same over my way...we really are dumbing down in almost every way...thanks Media folks, needed a reality check, now how do I light a fire in the woods again without burning it down?

[DONTEATUS]

We might as well ,Stephen Hawkins just about wrapped it up in one ball of Doom& Gloom ! THe God particle just might be the End of us, or If we contact E.T. THey just might just Eat Us. !

Ivw been telling you for Years about that ! But IT takes Stephen to Drive it Home?

Oh Well !

[ophion1031]

Who here believes that society, I am speaking of the USA since it is where I live, is being purposefully "dumbed-down" so it can be more easily controlled by the Government? If we are being taught in school only what they want us being taught (less emphasis on math, science, history and writing, more about the psychological things...this is really hard to explain, btw...especially in the formative years, elementary and middle/junior high), feelings are being promoted over facts and a fight for mediocrity over trying to be better and better, what better way to control the masses when doubt is formed and most people just go with what is being told instead of THINKING about it for one minute? Was that too much of a convoluted run-on sentence? I tried not to do it. Did I make sense? Thoughts anyone?

It is honestly scary how "dumb" we are becoming. Just look at social media sites. Most people have such horrible grammar and have trouble spelling even the simplest of words. No doubt the government is controlling us, they have been for the longest time. When I was a kid, I remember the adults around me would go to work, come home eat dinner and watch some tv before going to bed and doing the same thing all over again the next day. That is what was expected of people and everyone went along with it. This was back in the 80's and I was just a kid, but I have always been very observant, even at a young age.

Nowadays, people don't live like that. The younger generation now are really a problem. They think Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill movies are funny because those guys swear a lot, even though the stories to these movies are terrible. These same kids think that 80's comedies are awful, even though they are the best comedy flicks ever made. They were smart and witty and had good stories. Now we just get movies with profanity. I'm all for profanity, but kids like these movies for the wrong reasons. I could write for another ten minutes and get into other aspects of why our society is "dumbing down," but I'm going to end it here before it gets me in a bad mood haha.

[aquatus1]

Why are people equating the lack of experience with basic survival skills to intelligence?

[Rlyeh]

It is honestly scary how "dumb" we are becoming. Just look at social media sites. Most people have such horrible grammar and have trouble spelling even the simplest of words. No doubt the government is controlling us, they have been for the longest time.

Yeah, obviously the government is teaching people to misspell words.

[Babe Ruth]

As MLK observed back when, we are in an age of guided missiles and unguided men.

And half a century before him, Edward Bernays, hired by Woodrow Wilson to assist in taking the American people to WWI, in his book "Propaganda" noted that "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of."

True dat, even today. At the altar of "terrorism", the American people are being led to war in the Mideast, again, or even in Ukraine, with so many of them happy to be going.

[kartikg]

This dumbing down is happening slowly in my nation too. In some school there are no exams and lot of bs is taught . In engginering colleges a limited portion is taught and exams have questions which are too predictable. There is a grading scheme introduced called relative grading which doesn't give exact marks but grades like a b b+ etc , which are derived using some weird formula. Reality shows are on the rise and people discuss about them for hours.

[preacherman76]

Common core any one? Where 2+2=5 so long as you come up with a winded 15 minute speech on how you came to that answer.

[Border Collie]

It's easy to blame the government or the television companies for "dumbing down". It is a matter of individual responsibility, though. It's your life.

[Phaeton80]

It's easy to blame the government or the television companies for "dumbing down". It is a matter of individual responsibility, though. It's your life.

Although you are correct any individual can go against 'the current' in this context, given the OP focuses on a societal level; environment is obviously a very prominent, even decisive factor.

Social engineering in the form of de- education of the general public is a very real phenomenon, imho.

Some interesting contrast; heres an exam from the Bullit County schools eighth grade, 1912.

http://www.bullittco...olexam1912.html

Edited September 9, 2014 by Phaeton80

[Babe Ruth]

It's easy to blame the government or the television companies for "dumbing down". It is a matter of individual responsibility, though. It's your life.

That is more or less true, but a very incomplete analysis.

What you fail to note in that post is that while it is up to the individual to inform himself, there are very serious efforts being made 24/7 to manipulate the public perception. These efforts have been going on AT LEAST for a century when Edward Bernays was hired.

Fake stories like the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the Pat Tillman incident and many many more demonstrate how far the government is willing to go in an effort to misinform a gullible public.

We all have misunderstandings and misinformation, but those who claim to be informed when they actually don't know about certain facts are the common case. For example, even though the evidence is ample, some people today still swear up and down that there was no molten iron in the bowels of the WTC buildings. Such a view is simply being in a state of denial, and not conducive to rational discussion.

[skyeagle409]

That is more or less true, but a very incomplete analysis.

We all have misunderstandings and misinformation, but those who claim to be informed when they actually don't know about certain facts are the common case. For example, even though the evidence is ample, some people today still swear up and down that there was no molten iron in the bowels of the WTC buildings.

What molten iron? The photo that CT'ers claimed depicts molten steel was determined to be reflection from a flashlight. Steven Jones was proven to have lied about that photo and what did you do?! You took the bait and ran away with it.

The photo proves that you were duped again!! Your long track record of accepting and posting disinformation and lies on a regular basis from CT websites that are well-known for spewing false and misleading information, speaks for itself.

Edited September 9, 2014 by skyeagle409

[+DieChecker]

Everything is being Dumbed Down. Want to use a computer? Just click the icon. Or, to use your phone? Just push the button and speak what you want it to do. People may not be dumber, but they are certainly more spoiled. They (in general) expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter.

Spoiled meaning, people feel that a good cell phone, high speed internet, a thousand channels of TV, a game console with 100 games, and large screen LCD TV are all REQUIRED and NECESSARY to people today.

People are watching dumber and dumber shows on TV. Intellectual TV channels have slowly (or quickly) switched to stupid shows because they bring in viewers. The History Channel and Discovery Channel have both switched to "dumb" TV shows.

[darkmoonlady]

We are not being dumbed down by any agency. The educational system is not perfect and with the funding it receives does a good job of trying to educate kids. Given that in previous decades you were lucky to finish Jr. High before going to work, disabled and dyslexic kids fell through the cracks or weren't educated at all, it is much better now than it ever has been.

If you want to blame anything look at the double edged sword of technology. We have access to almost all the worlds information at our fingertips but it is also a huge distraction.

Television is a great medium to learn from or in the case of some parents becomes a de facto babysitter. Parents have the bigger responsibility for instilling a love of learning in their children, more than teachers I think. Teachers can only succeed if they have parental support. The government can't make that happen or not make it happen.

Edited September 9, 2014 by darkmoonlady

[skyeagle409]

Who here believes that society, I am speaking of the USA since it is where I live, is being purposefully "dumbed-down" so it can be more easily controlled by the Government? If we are being taught in school only what they want us being taught (less emphasis on math, science, history and writing, more about the psychological things...this is really hard to explain, btw...especially in the formative years, elementary and middle/junior high), feelings are being promoted over facts and a fight for mediocrity over trying to be better and better, what better way to control the masses when doubt is formed and most people just go with what is being told instead of THINKING about it for one minute? Was that too much of a convoluted run-on sentence? I tried not to do it. Did I make sense? Thoughts anyone?

Why rely solely on the government when there are other reliable sources of information that have nothing to do with the government?