Are People Getting Dumber?

“Are people getting dumber?” was a serious question that I decided to ask on X, formerly known as Twitter. Why? Because it’s an honest question. To me the answer, while seemingly obvious, is a bit more complex. I noticed several things while interacting with the general public, as well as consuming media that I hadn’t noticed before.

For starters I worked at Walmart for three years, from 2015-2018. And while everyone who shops at Walmart isn’t a Mensa member, the customers, generally speaking, were able to follow basic instructions. If I told someone where the ketchup is they could find it. If I told someone something was out of stock they understood what that meant. If I explained corporate policy to people they understood what I meant.

Nowadays, it seems that some basics, such as following instructions, seem to be difficult. The zoo that I grew up with, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, is now covered in brand new signs that say “the monkeys can tap but you can’t” along with extra barriers to stop people from getting close to the monkeys. 

People have even been kicked out of the zoo due to inappropriate behavior towards the giraffes such as grabbing, touching, and hitting them on the deck where you can feed these magnificent creatures lettuce. These are sensitive wild animals, with necks that weigh up to 600 pounds that they use frequently in colossal fights. One blow from their powerful necks could easily land you in the hospital, but people seem oblivious to the seriousness of following the zoo staff’s instructions.

I truly enjoy feeding them, and I hope that people's stupidity doesn’t result in such an unbelievable experience being taken away! I’ve checked in with the zoo staff frequently (we visit nearly once, sometimes twice a week) and so far things have been going pretty well this summer, so fingers crossed!

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And if X, formerly known as Twitter is any picture of our future, concepts such as abstract thought, hypotheticals, analogies, logical fallacies, “bigger picture” thinking seem to be difficult for people to grasp.

I remember going through some children’s television programming, after a long day of playing with my child, she and I like to sit next to each other on the couch. I turned on an old episode of Barney, something I grew up with, and they whipped out horn instruments and were playing various classical marches. I watched her eyes get super wide. “What’s that?!” she cried and pointed to the screen, and I quickly tried to name off as many instruments as I could. It’s a neat exercise to end the day, and I hope it builds her vocabulary.

I tried a lot of different modern TV programs, ones that supposedly teach emotional regulation and self-control, and featured new animation and new styles that looked cleaner and more professional,  but quite frankly, I couldn’t stand watching them. It was the same music, the same songs, over and over again just in different keys or different animation, as if children are incapable of listening to anything other than nursery rhymes. They don’t teach you anything, they’re just loud noises and bright colors to distract a child and suck them in.

And my child was so bored of them that we switched to the shows that I grew up with, but this worries me, because if people didn’t like the dumber programs, they would be canceled.

And that’s what scares me. And this issue isn’t just isolated to children’s programming or visits to the zoo, it’s everywhere.

In Ohio where I live, the college graduation rate is only 28.9%, meaning the majority of people don’t have any college education at all. And while college used to be a good measure of intelligence, nowadays rather than trying to prepare students for the future, Berkeley, known for their prestige, instead offers classes in Nicki Minaj.

I know for me, my bachelor's degree is one of the most useless degrees I have when it comes to jobs, but it certainly makes me a more informed healthcare consumer.

I thought moving to a place with extremely high property taxes would result in the public schools being decent but to no avail. The third and fourth graders are well behind grade level and the school establishment is still blaming COVID. 

Thankfully I live in a state with school vouchers where I can send my children wherever I want, but it still makes me sad for all the kids whose parents perhaps are not paying as much attention as I am, and sending their kids into that school district.

So are people getting dumber? I don’t think so, but I do think that people are becoming more ignorant. I don’t mean “ignorant” in the form of bigotry, I mean ignorant by the original definition, because they are not exposed to things that challenge them intellectually.

I also think that due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, people have simply forgotten how to behave in public. This is a good thing because this means that us, we, adults as well as parents can fix this. If you treat people like they are morons, they will act like morons. If you demand of them intelligence, chances are they will rise up to meet the challenge.

I noticed this in my own child. Once I realized she had a much better grasp on language than I originally thought, I began putting up boundaries. Teaching her to sit in a chair, be quiet, not bite me, and not eat things that are not food are things we are striving for right now, and she’s doing a pretty good job! 

I’m currently teaching her colors and how certain colors when they combine create new colors using play doh. While I used to say “she’s just a baby” she’s actually not just a baby. She is a toddler and she needs to learn how to function in society. 

And frankly, the adults need to learn how to function in society too, and I think we all forgot how due to the COVID lockdowns. I’m sure we can improve things if we put in the effort!

Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author's own.