Are people in the United States becoming more intelligent or are we being dumbed down by the media and the pace of our lives? Many of us are working more than one job just to keep ahead. How many of us have the ability to even thing twice when we hear or read the news? Are we becoming a nation of mindless trend followers or are people out there actually thinking about important ideas and world situations?
2007-02-04 11:09:19 · 9 answers · asked by snowexam 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
The Dumbing Down of America
List of reasons why we are Dumber than before:
(The items are in no particular order)
Local News. Fifty percent of their air time is wasted on previews of
hyper-shallow stories that are "coming up next".
Lead stories are always the most disgusting dirt they can dig up that day.
These are followed by Weather Forecasts that are always wrong. (Except in Hawaii)
Any President with the last name "Bush".
Just because you happen to be near the front of a flock of sheep,
it doesn't mean that you are a leader.
The Homeland Security Advisory System. This comes in two versions (above).
(The version for grown-ups is the one on the left side, by the way).
Every 5 minutes, Fox News will "scroll" the current threat level.
It would be SO DUMB to leave your house without knowing the current threat level!
"The Cure for Cancer".
This applies also to "Jerry's Kids", "March of Dimes", etc.
I may get into hot water on this one, but here's my take on a big scam...
Since 1960, Americans have been generously pouring hard earned money into the coffers
of hundreds of charities and non-profit org's for "the Cure for Cancer", M.S., etc.
This has been a brilliant 'snow-job' on America, because after over 40 years, we still
haven't caught on. Remember, these are PhD's thinking up ways to get us to pay their
salaries for walking around in lab coats and looking important.
Boy, are we ever dumb. In over 40 years, have those PhD's even cured one thing?
"Wheel of Fortune" starring ex KTLA weatherman Pat Sajak.
Mistakenly billed as an 'Educational' show, regular viewers have lost so many
IQ points that they frequently applaud while the wheel is spinning.
The NBA, except for Michael Jordan, and the last minute of some games.
"Y2K".
Just your typical invention by the News Media during a slow news year.
This was almost funny, because even a lot of smart people suckered for this one.
It was an especially nice touch when they setup those credible looking
"Y2K Control Centers" on TV -- to keep us abreast of all late breaking tragedies
as the year 2000 rolled around.
If our News Media had you worried about Y2K, you have been dumbed down.
Deduct one more IQ point if you weren't angry when the Media didn't apologize for Y2K.
WWF Pay-Per-View.
"Vignettes". Athlete Sob-Stories narrated by Jim Nance, CBS Winter Olympics, 1998.
Reason: Ruined the Olympics.
All "Uncensored Bloopers" specials hosted by Dick Clark.
Not just blatant shameless plugs for sister network series,
all of the Bloopers are heavily censored.
"Debit Cards". If you can't control yourself with a Credit Card,
You won't control yourself with a Debit Card, either.
The Irwin Allen Movie: "The Poseidon Adventure", 1972.
Reason: A new low, starring both Diane Cannon and Ernest Borgnine.
The Movie: "Airplane II, the Sequel", 1982, starring Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty.
Especially the part when the Space Shuttle makes an emergency landing on the moon.
The Bloop - From the TV Series "Lost In Space".
You should See the Bloop (Opens in New Window)
The character "JarJar Binks" - From Star Wars IV.
Reason: Ruined the movie.
This item might be misplaced here, because the movie was shown worldwide.
That means that the whole planet got profoundly dumber.
The TV Series "Laverne and Shirley", "Petticoat Junction", and "The Dukes of Hazzard".
"Award Shows". An inexpensive way for the Networks to attract top actors and actresses
into appearing in a TV show for free by offering them glory and cheap little statues.
"Viagra Ads". Millions of dollars are spent every day to advertise products
that need no advertising whatsoever. I can't decide if Tampax Ads are just as useless.
The worst thing about these ads is they make America dumber.
"In-Depth" interviews by Barbara Walters. The most shallow TV personality,
yet her tonal inflections make her sound credible to the simple mind.
Candy wrappers containing the words: "Fat Free".
"Ready to Eat Campbell's Soup". First appeared in 2001.
This proves we are all dumber because we are now too dumb
to add a can of water (or milk) to the pan when heating our soup.
The "Politically Correct" movement.
Around the time Americans were getting fully dumbed down, along come these people
who are offended whenever anybody reveals any personality when they talk.
The word: "Homeless". (Only when used to describe an adult, not a child)
The P.C. people insist we use this word, instead of "Bum" (or "Bums").
Listing this item is my payback for not being able to say the word "Bum".
When we were kids, we would see the bums downtown and by the railroad tracks.
Our parents scared us into growing up to be good citizens by saying:
"You better do (this or that), so you won't grow up to be a bum!".
Thank You, P.C. people - why don't we rename YOU to something like: 'Snots'?
"Katie Courick".
On November 24, 2001, Katie actually said this phrase on-air
(while interviewing a reporter who was shot in the leg in Afghanistan)
"And is that when, -- excuse my language -- all heck broke loose?"
Note: Correct spelling is Katie Couric, but by mis-spelling it,
Many search engines ranked this page highly (like excellent "Google")
The Song "We are the World".
Sung in unison by nearly every singer alive.
If you liked this song, you are another victim -- deduct 2 IQ points.
TV Episode: Dallas: "Bobby's Death".
Bobby Ewing, in a climatic conclusion to a season, dies in a firey car explosion.
In the opening episode of the next season, Bobby casually exits a shower wearing a towel,
in the presence of his wife, Pamela. Turns out, Bobby's death was just Pamela's dream.
This was a big Zinger, playing directly to our 'Dumb' sense.
To further our 'Dumbing' -- the network made no apology to America.
Networks (in general) collectively lost 15 IQ points for pulling this stunt.
America fared poorly on this one -- all Dallas fans were Dumbed Down very harshly.
"Boob Jobs".
I'm not saying that only dumb girls get boob jobs, I'm saying that America is being
dumbed down by the notion of boob jobs. Shame on any guy that suggests that a woman
needs a boob job. Shame on any woman that thinks she is inferior without one.
The Movie: "Moulin Rouge".
If you love this movie, notice this the next time you watch it...
Many characters are seen drinking an opalescent green, flaming drink.
This drink is called 'Absinthe' (Wormwood), which was an enormously popular drink
in late nineteeth century France. Absinthe is strongly hallucinogenic (much worse than LSD).
It caused permanent neurological disorders, stillbirths, psychosis, and was
often coupled with abhorrent crimes. Sadly, Van Gogh was addicted to absinthe,
which worsened his psychosis, triggered hallucinogenic fits and ultimately
caused his suicide. The movie scared me, because it seemed like the entire
cast and crew had found a new supply of Absinthe, and made a movie about a very
weird acid trip.
"Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade".
Every Float promotes a product. McDonalds, Mr. Peanut, Lego Toys, etc.
The parade is really a 3 hour long commercial.
American Children are now Much Dumber, because of:
Japanese "Anime" cartoons. These run at five frames per second,
and cause seizures and measurable brain damage in both children and adults.
Your child loses 1 to 2 IQ points per episode watching these cartoons.
"Barney". Exception: When Ted Kennedy dressed in an anatomically correct
Barney Costume at an exclusive party in Martha's Vineyard.
"Tele Tubbies". Brilliantly crafted series by the British.
Their eventual goal with this show is to re-colonize America in about 40 years,
after children raised on this show are in charge of American government.
"Lunchables", by Oscar Meyer
"Toys given away by Fast Food Chains". Clever marketing easily twists young minds
into thinking these companies are benevolent and trustworthy.
Blindly loyal lifetime customers are made in this manner.
2007-02-04 11:12:50 · answer #1 · answered by bhj618 2 · 2⤊ 3⤋
No, it's not devolution (which is a made-up word).
Our life in the U.S. is by and large pretty easy and safe - our standards of living are quite high compared to the rest of the world. So easy and safe that we're forgetting that war once meant tens of thousands dead as well as country-wide economic sacrifice. Now it's just a game to most. Anyway...
People still have the ability to be as smart as they ever have been. And there was never a time when everyone was intelligent, active, and heroically independent-minded. The ovewhelming accessibility of today's media are only going to dumb a person down if they let them - if they let themselves become passive recipients of news bites instead of critically reviewing news sources for truth content. Sure, it's really easy to get lazy - but it's your fault if you do. So don't.
2007-02-04 11:26:33 · answer #2 · answered by somebody 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Being dumbed down definitely. Vast sums of money are spent on getting us to not think clearly. To worry about Pop Idol more than government elections. Or what flavour of carcinogenic asthma-inducing air 'freshener' to buy this week.
Add in nutritional deficencies from eating too much processed and artifical food and it gets even worse.
We're so stressed out that we keep working in worsening situations and being grateful that we have a job at all. Meanwhile our government is selling our labour and our resources to the lowest bidder. It all feels so overwhelming that we think we can't do anything. We owe it to ourselves to find a way.
2007-02-04 11:29:18 · answer #3 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
were getting dumber. If you look at all the time and energy we put into caring for GRASS of all plants GRASS, the most useless leaf on the planet you will see how our priorities have gone down the toilet. And now everybody is saying that you should put "fashion before funtion" the ancients had people to put these two together so you could have something pretty that also worked.
2007-02-04 11:16:36 · answer #4 · answered by YouCannotKnowUnlessUAsk 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think TV makes people dumber. It lowers their frame of reference from the classics to Britney throwing a fat and sloppy crowshot at 350 million people.
Enough said...
2007-02-04 11:17:34 · answer #5 · answered by TheseUnitedStates 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Well, let's put it this way: If we didn't have the media, we'd be most gravely uninformed people. The media is there to report world news, not tell the truth. Without the media of today, we'd be living in true isolation, where one message takes months to reach one person.
2007-02-04 11:14:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
We are becoming less intelligent. This is documented by things like SAT scores going down. There is no direct external cause though. It is devolution.
2007-02-04 11:11:52 · answer #7 · answered by Lisa A 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
UGH!It really sucks that I am not old enough to have a good job.
2007-02-04 11:12:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
less intelligent
2007-02-04 11:13:12 · answer #9 · answered by glamour04111 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋