Are people more stupid now than 20 years ago ? ...?

Question

Just to state an example or two;
I used to enjoy watching documentaries finding them informative, interesting and educational, now these once great programmes seem to feel the need to remind me what I'm watching every 5 minutes and are so simplistic that nothing is really gained...
Another example has to be coffee cups etc which say " warning contents may be hot " I want it hot, I dont want but Bl oo dy cold coffee for things sake ... And all the similar labels that imply I / we are ALL idiots ... If you dont know that boiling water is hot should you really be out in the world to start with ...

Over to you .... ;-) ....

Answer 1

I think some people are becoming more like robots than humans but luckly there are still some thinkers out there. Yes I agree that the documentries are repeating themselves telling us stuff that anyone with a brain can workout for themselves. But then you bump into someone who has just spent the last 4 week watching someone else trappped inside a house or someone who just can't live without know who is getting it on with who on celeb love island. These people are surly not all the ticket. It's the media we have to blame they are turning the world into a mass consumer market. Luckly I have the will and the chance to turn away from it all and spend time exploring my world and missing out all the false crap that is fed to us via tv etc
Some people will die not knowing where the cape of good hope is, let alone going there. They will go on through life thinking the Congo is a dance ya do at weddings. That is their choice lets just leave them to it. As for the cup warning, I'm affraid we do need them.......although I'm not entirely sure the people they are put there for can read them! lol

Answer 2

I don't think people are generally more stupid. I think that today more stupid people have access to advertising their incapacities via the Internet and they therefore seem more prevalent than they were 15-20 years ago.

I can't account for documentary film makers. I suppose that some particularly controversial subjects might need a protracted background exposition just to put everyone on the same page - sort of put forward the sets of assumptions the thesis will be built on. The Discovery and History channels in the U.S. seem to be doing quite a number of projects regarding Biblical times and addressing the claims in the novel the DaVinci Code, and their 15 minutes of set up (these are the players and what the Bible said they did) is helpful for me. I saw a documentary on the String Theory recently and was immensely grateful for the background information - physics was never my strong suit.

Regarding the coffee cups and other product warnings, that's entirely a result of an increase in lawsuits and a CYA for the corporations.

Answer 3

We seem to be glorifying stupidity a lot more than in the past and that's depressing. But maybe Stupid was always rampant and it just has so many more outlets for expression these days.

The hot coffee thing is because so many people have decided that ridiculous lawsuits are an easier way to make money than just working. And since we've let money become god, advertising rules the world.

For the most part I've given up with TV. I hope that the world is more than idiots jumping to conclusions and fighting about everything when my grandchildren are grown. If only Lazy and Stupid would get divorced and stop reproducing.

Answer 4

Well, for starters the warning on the coffee cups etc. is to prevent from being sued. (Remember that woman who was awarded 1 millionfor spilling hot coffee in her lap?)
I know what you mean about the documentaries. A lot of times they won't even give you the correct info. Then they'll play the same documentary 10+ times throughout the week.
To answer your qustion, I do believe that humans as a whole are more idiotic now than ever & I believe it is due to technological advances, mass media & the internet.
Poeple are more misinformed more now than ever, and with mass media, misinformation spreads like wildfire. The internet has everyone linked together, creating global conformity when innovative thinking is what creates exciting new ideas and theories.
Everyone now relies on computers to do their thinking for them. Their calculators are doing their math.
Stupidty & laziness goes hand in hand.

Answer 5

No, I don't think that people are stupider now, I just think that you are taking two items that are outside of intelligence. The first one is that many studies have shown that shows have to constantly restate the facts of what they are and what channel they are because more people are surfing channels now more than ever and will not know what they are watching if it isn't constantly restated. It's how you get their attention, hopefully, so that they watch the show, see the advertisements, and hopefully buy the products.
As for the coffee, that is due to lawsuit after lawsuit. Is it completely pointless that they have to say that HOT coffee is HOT? Absolutely, but legally, to protect the company selling the coffee, they have to do that. Blame the sue happy people around you who found they can make millions for suing for the stupidest things.

Answer 6

I will agree that people are more stupid.

However, I think the warnings on coffee cups are because of geniuses! It's because one woman made millions of dollars by suing McDonalds because her coffee was too hot. Never has to work a day in her life now! I am seriously just waiting for a wet floor without those big yellow signs so I can take a fall.
So, I'm only half-joking.

Answer 7

Blame it on t.v. and junk food. I do. The first gives people the attention span of a goldfish and the second drives their IQ into double digits.
As for the coffee cup thing: just in case your brain has collapsed due to the aformentioned, hopefully you can read well enough to get the message that the sensation in your hands is heat and dropping the contents into your lap is going to hurt. Hopefully the warning will save lives! (Or corporate millions).

Answer 8

It's the consequences of peoples actions, Hot pots tell you they are hot because crazy people have sued over being scolded by hot coffee ( yes you knew it was hot and I knew it was hot but the person who bought it didn't know it was hot?) Repeating information has become so stupid because in the early years this subliminal crap, now they just out right tell you 800 times that they want you to buy this that and the other, are we getting more stupid? Nope, but advertising and others really want you to believe that you are!

Answer 9

The warnings are for money grubbing people who want to sue McDonald's because their coffee is hot, and for other people who want to sue because they grossly misuse products.

I agree about the documentaries... I used to LOVE them, and looked forward to watching them on Discovery and the like. Now everything is real life drama, which is nothing more than a bunch of people acting like idiots. I say bring the documentaries back!

Answer 10

I think that information nowadays are so widespread and easily obtained that one would think that people are stupid if they do not know things

And they teach a lot of that stuff in school, a lot available in the newspapers, magazines and books

These were not so common back then, and knowledge was quite limited

So in a way yes, I agree with you...