[Brad23140]

Is it just me or are people getting dumber? I don't mean this in regard to birth rates for disabilities or genetic defects, I'm referring to a complete lack of common sense or awareness of surroundings. This is not to be confused with outright rudeness, either. Things that used to be out of the ordinary (inattentive drivers, shoppers with no clue that other carts need to get down the aisle, people unprepared for transactions at banks and businesses, etc,) are now commonplace. Are people getting dumber?

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Name : Brad23140, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 32, City : Provo, State : UT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rachel]

It seems to me there are more self-centered people who claim many entitlements just for using up air and taking up space. This societal-nurtured attitude of narcissism encourages people to take no responsibility for themselves and no interest in others, except what others can do for them. Sounds a bit sociopathic to me.

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Name : Rachel, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 44, City : Framingham, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : forensic counselor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Augustine23546]

I notice this every day and, frankly, am quite annoyed by it. I think three factors come to play here. First, so many things that used to take a conscious effort are now done automatically, by computers and other machines. Examples: knowing practical math vs. knowing which buttons to press on a calculator, cooking from scratch vs. heating up prepared foods in a microwave. (This may be why people don't identify themselves on the telephone anymore unless asked; they assume the other party has caller ID!) Second, people seem less aware of how their actions affect others. They see things solely in terms of how it is going to affect them. They don't even stop to think what the other person's reaction is going to be, unless they have very strong 'people skills' to begin with. Third, and this is a major paradigm shift from previous generations, being 'focused' and 'angular' is now prized; hence, you have people who know a lot about one thing, and may be very good at this one thing, but know very little about anything else. Computer programmers and professional athletes (some of them, anyway) are a case in point. Time was, being 'well-rounded' and having a basic instinct about pretty much anything in life was encouraged. There are very few 'men (and women) in full' anymore, i.e., people who have 'done it all.' And don't say 'there isn't any time,' because there is just as much time as there ever was. It's just a matter of setting one's priorities.

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Name : Augustine23546, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Glenda]

You know what? It's the same over on this side of the globe as well. People seem more self-absorbed these days, and unwilling or unable to consider how their actions affect the lives of others. I don't know that dumber would be the right term, though - perhaps society is just 'less aware.' It's ironic. Is it perhaps that as we have access to more information, we become 'numb' toward reality?

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Name : Glenda, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 23, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : Nurse, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Matt22011]

IQs have been rising since the 30's. An average person today can get a genius level score on an IQ test from that period.

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Name : Matt22011, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 25, City : Sacramento, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Software Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[roxanne29495]

yes

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Name : roxanne29495, City : near chicago, State : IL Country : United States, 

[Matt22020]

hahah Brad.... 'Dumber' is not a word. you just proved your own inane question.

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Name : Matt22020, Gender : M, Age : 22, City : New York City, State : NY Country : United States, 

[alex]

i think people are gettin stupider. Just look at the children. I think lots of blame lies on the parents, and also with society. I mean, when i was younger, i got to go outside and play wherever i wanted, and i knew not to talk with strangers. These days parents wont let their kids go far because of kidnappers are more abundant then when i was younger (10 years ago). Also, we have to thank the Public School District. Parents play an awesome role with this also. I mean when your kid is caught plagerizing (spelling), do you let them know what they did was wrong, or do you go bitch at the school? With these factors and many more, you do that math.

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Name : alex, Gender : F, Race : *poweRpuFF greeN*, Age : 19, City : houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : *maDsCienTist*, 

[Matt-Cramer21990]

I think there are two factors at work that are giving rise to this impression. One is that there seems to be a recent fad of collecting stories about stupid things people have done. There are books, web sites, and the like dedicated to stupidity, from tales of stupid criminals to stupid quotes from politicians to stupid deaths (the Darwin Awards). The other is that it is much easier to pass along stories of this nature, through such media as the web sites, email, and talk radio. It used to be that most people would only hear of an act of monumental stupidity if it somehow made the national newspapers. Now, such tales can get forwarded around the Net whenever they happen, discussed on talk radio, and the like. The result is a lot more tales of stupid actions, without requiring any increase in the number of stupid people.

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Name : Matt-Cramer21990, City : Oxford, State : GA Country : United States, 

[Jen]

Civilization and society have coddled those people who would have been wiped out by evolution ('the strongest will survive').

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Name : Jen, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 31, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[KaylaL]

I know it is hard to believe, but people are actually getting smarter. Check this out "In his study of IQ tests scores for different populations over the past sixty years, James R. Flynn discovered that IQ scores increased from one generation to the next for all of the countries for which data existed (Flynn, 1994). This interesting phenomena has been called "the Flynn Effect." Many of the questions about why this effect occurs have not yet been answered by researchers. This site (http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/flynneffect.shtml) attempts to explain the issues involved in a way that will better help you to understand the Flynn Effect. It also provides references for further inquiry."

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Name : KaylaL, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : St. Augustine, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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