Are the questions asked on Yahoo Answers indicative of the population's intelligence?

Question

At first I just felt really smart, but as I went on I realized that people could answer their own questions if they just used common sense. As I read over the questions, I am convinced more and more that society is dumbing down. I understand that some of the questions are meant to be jokes (you can always spot those), but some of the users here ask really moranic questions. Like, "Am I pregnant if I had anal sex on the day I was supposed to start my period?" This was a serious question!!!!! I just wonder if anyone else noticed the amount of idiots (or crazy people) who use this site and if you think this indicates a trend in our society intelligence.

Answer 1

I think the questions are indicative of the intelligence of the group of people that participate in Yahoo Answers. This, like any poll isn't really indicative of the entire population.

Answer 2

Interesting question. I would say that most questions are a reflection of a person's state of mind, rather than intelligence. I know sometimes when I'm trying to stay awake at work around 4 am with 2 hours left in my shift I ask some pretty silly questions. Sometimes I have a question that I am really curious about and I'll go out of my way and log in to ask it... for example I was curious about some gardening and I know nothing about plants... so I figured getting some opinions would be a good place to start the research. I've found that the stupider the question the more answers I get... the really burning serious questions tend to get one or two real answers, a handful of goofy remarks remarks, and a bunch of i don't knows. Now if you want to talk about moronic, read some of the answers! Oh and haven't you ever heard of an anal pregnancy? Sheesh!

Answer 3

One needs to consider that not everyone in society or the population uses the Internet, and that not all Internet users use Yahoo, and not all Yahoo users visit Answers. So.. what kinds of people *do* visit Yahoo Answers?

So, it seems many moronic users. But the only thing that we might infer from that is... many users of the site are moronic/idiotic/crazy. To suggest the same for society would be a sweeping generalisation.

There are many factors why someone might ask particular questions here on Answers.

I think a good way to approach this site is with open-mindedness, tolerance for individual differences, ability to resist paying attention to idiots, and.. a constant view of the bigger picture; What is Yahoo Answers? and What am I doing reading the moronic questions?

(Note: Not suggesting your question is moronic!)

Answer 4

Yes, I've noticed and yes, I'm afraid it is a trend. The sheer volume of stupidity on this site is staggering. Sure, many of them are 14 years old and don't know better, and others are from countries that are comparitively unsophisticated, but that still leaves a large number of adult, American born, absolute cretins. I have the creeping suspicion that in fact the population is growing stupider, but I can't tell for sure. If this site is an indication however, it's not looking good...

Answer 5

I think we get a pretty accurate cross-section of the overall intelligence level of society here. We get the witty and wise; the science & math geeks, the angry atheists, the religious zealots, the average Joe or Jane on the street, the smart-asss and sarcastic, and finally, alas, those so dumb they have room temperature IQ's.
I have found the level of smarts here to be about what I expected. With one exception: and ironically it is in the same demographic you used in your example: teenage girls. My Lord, are they really this stupid? It's scary to think some of them will be parents. Is there anything as disgusting on this planet as a little teenage twit who knows less than nothing but thinks she knows it all, and then refuses to learn?

Answer 6

I don't think people as dumb as the questions asked.

Meaning, we have to remember we don't know the age and background of many of the askers.

If a 13 year old asked a silly pregnancy question, it wouldn't be as silly as if it were asked by an 18 year old.

Remember in a typical classroom setting bad questions are not asked for fear of embarrassment. Here on Yahoo askers are anonymous so anything goes!

Answer 7

Some folks just testing to see if we'll answer dumb questions as if they were real. Some folks just fishing for different perspectives. Some folks thinking everyone else is dumb and they're so smart. Some folks just like getting answers in their e-mail. It can be fun. Some of the questions make my blood boil (prejudice, racist, atheist), but it's all good because we can study how people think about things and I think people are more honest when you don't know who they are. Thanks.

Answer 8

yea there are alternative sources of information, and i do check if anybody else posted the question before send it out, but i dont think people ask questions that are suitable for them, i ask things so i get a different opinion on something im not sure about and where a book magazine or web page cant get me... webmd.com is cool...advertisement

Answer 9

i know what you're talking about. to be honest, i think a lot of the people on here are quite young (teens). also, some of them don't speak english as a first language.

but beside those explanations, you could be right.

Answer 10

Please don't mistake "intelligence" and "knowledge." Some pretty intelligent people can lack knowledge in certain areas, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are dumb--only uninformed!