4 ms·

>the masses are dumber than they’ve ever been. I don't believe that for a second, but what I do believe is that 'the masses' have never been so re-broadcast, n

by serf 3y ago

>the masses are dumber than they’ve ever been. I don't believe that for a second, but what I do believe is that 'the masses' have never been so re-broadcast, nor had such a large loud-speaker.

JohnMakin 3y ago
Go spend time in the comment section of basically anywhere online. I promise you’ll change your mind. edit: if you’ve spent any time in them in the last few years you’d see the clear degradation. people can barely speak coherently.
- petesergeant 3y ago
  That’s proof that people are dumb, not that they didn’t used to be even dumber.
  - pavel_lishin 3y ago
    It's more likely to be proof that dumb people have more time and inclination to spew their comments online. And with that bit of self-realization, I think it's time to sign off for a bit.
    - gorlilla 3y ago
      Being self-aware is the best defense against becoming a self-awarewolf[0]. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/SelfAwarewolves/ https://old.reddit.com/r/SelfAwarewolves/
- RoyalHenOil 3y ago
  This is a side effect of the internet becoming more accessible to everyone. Keep in mind that the number of children on the internet is higher than it has ever been, and children typically also have more free time to comment than adults have.
- Broken_Hippo 3y ago
  And realize that if you were born just a few centuries earlier, you would have probably been illiterate - and if you were literate, you probably couldn't read anything beyond religious texts. But on the other hand, you wouldn't have been able to broadcast the holes in your knowledge as far, either. And everyone has them - the holes in their knowledge. One of yours seems to be reading communication. If most folks can barely speak coherently - to you - I'd wager that you just aren't putting in the work to better understand colloquial speech.
  - barrysteve 3y ago
    The cultural context of colloquial speech is incredibly difficult to pick up online. It is literally never communicated, you have to scrape Culture Shock and reaction videos for weeks to piece it together. Or study full time, or live there.
cloverich 3y ago
I don't generally agree with the masses being dumber than ever, but I do think people have a pretty warped view of nature these days. We heavily censor real violence; its partially why people (in US at least) have such a high tolerance for "violent" shows -- they are so far detached from real violence it doesn't even register as something actually bad. I have mixed feelings. Being exposed to actual violence doesn't seem to make people better, IME. But being so detached from it doesn't seem healthy either.

by serf 3y ago

>the masses are dumber than they’ve ever been. I don't believe that for a second, but what I do believe is that 'the masses' have never been so re-broadcast, nor had such a large loud-speaker.

JohnMakin 3y ago

Go spend time in the comment section of basically anywhere online. I promise you’ll change your mind. edit: if you’ve spent any time in them in the last few years you’d see the clear degradation. people can barely speak coherently.

petesergeant 3y ago
That’s proof that people are dumb, not that they didn’t used to be even dumber.
- pavel_lishin 3y ago
  It's more likely to be proof that dumb people have more time and inclination to spew their comments online. And with that bit of self-realization, I think it's time to sign off for a bit.
  - gorlilla 3y ago
    Being self-aware is the best defense against becoming a self-awarewolf[0]. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/SelfAwarewolves/ https://old.reddit.com/r/SelfAwarewolves/
RoyalHenOil 3y ago
This is a side effect of the internet becoming more accessible to everyone. Keep in mind that the number of children on the internet is higher than it has ever been, and children typically also have more free time to comment than adults have.
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
And realize that if you were born just a few centuries earlier, you would have probably been illiterate - and if you were literate, you probably couldn't read anything beyond religious texts. But on the other hand, you wouldn't have been able to broadcast the holes in your knowledge as far, either. And everyone has them - the holes in their knowledge. One of yours seems to be reading communication. If most folks can barely speak coherently - to you - I'd wager that you just aren't putting in the work to better understand colloquial speech.
- barrysteve 3y ago
  The cultural context of colloquial speech is incredibly difficult to pick up online. It is literally never communicated, you have to scrape Culture Shock and reaction videos for weeks to piece it together. Or study full time, or live there.

cloverich 3y ago

I don't generally agree with the masses being dumber than ever, but I do think people have a pretty warped view of nature these days. We heavily censor real violence; its partially why people (in US at least) have such a high tolerance for "violent" shows -- they are so far detached from real violence it doesn't even register as something actually bad. I have mixed feelings. Being exposed to actual violence doesn't seem to make people better, IME. But being so detached from it doesn't seem healthy either.