I'm not sure I agree with the core phenomenon that the author is trying to explain. Is it really people on average are getting stupider - or just people on the

I'm not sure I agree with the core phenomenon that the author is trying to explain. Is it really people on average are getting stupider - or just people on the internet? Because yeah, coherent discussion on internet has been on the decline ever since Twitter got popular. I haven't seen people in my real life have become less intelligent, though many have become more skeptical and outspoken. People on the left are skeptical towards police and religious and financial institutions, and people on the right are becoming more skeptical of news media and academics. The real difference here, which is probably influencing the author's take - is that many liberals regard skepticism towards moral authority is seen as healthy, and skepticism towards intellectual authority as stupidity (and for others, it's vice versa) It's not that clean cut though, both sides have actually fed into each other with this skepticism - which entrenches it further. I grew up watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report every night. Sure they mocked politicians, but they mocked news reporters just as often. Fox News was a big chunk of it - but nobody was spared. I spent a decade watching talking heads from every network lie, get called out, and then lie some more. Likewise, while many of the right line up to "support the police" - is there really any greater sign of distrust for authority than gun ownership? I've talked with plenty of gun owners, and the reasons most admit to owning guns are as follows: 1. They're worried they'll be in trouble and cops wouldn't respond in time to help them. 2. They're afraid the government will become tyrannical In either case, those reasons betray the underlying belief that even at it's best - the government and it's officials (cops) are not more capable of enforcing personal law and order than an individual is, and at worst - violence might be required to stop government officials. So sure it's weird, but in a way, this could just be what it's like when people of all backgrounds start to look more critically at flawed institutions. Many of these people are excited to see that others who are "waking up" (ie, realizing that things are flawed) and are feeding into that energy online. It's similar to a religious fervor like the great awakening. Once the novelty of it all has passed, people will either start working towards actual change, or they'll be distracted by something else.