Has society become stupid these days?

[Brandon]

I'm a 16 year old kid trying to get a sense of the real world and it seems like more people are getting stupider. For example, in the U.S, a guy interviewed Americans on the streets and they did not have a clue who the current president was nor what the capital of the U.S was. This is kind of sad, any reasons why?

Also, has TV, celebrities, and social networking destroyed our values? Maybe the media could also be blamed for this? Thank you for all of your answers!

[Bubbamiester1000]

as a fellow teen i am glad to find someone that shares the same views as myself. i believe the media, political correctness, and the public school system is to blame. you see people on yahoo answers that ask, "is this ok?" all the time. what p***** me off about this is that they don't have the presence of mind to judge for themselves if their predicament is, in fact, ok. they have to ask someone that hasn't even seen the problem firsthand if it is ok. and how to they know the answerer knows what they are talking about? i say, every man for himself. it's not the world's job to babysit you. keep the views you have, people like you are our country's only hope.

[Adam]

Society has always been stupid.

Values can only be destroyed willingly. People have jumped at the chance to be pathetic. Sad, but true. The media has no blame apart from society, society dictates what the media needs to be.

Personally, I feel like religion is more to blame then anything. Whenever people are forced to conform and comply with threats, pressure, (the threat of hell) it backfires. Religion also gives the illusion that since their is an afterlife, this one is a "trial run". And other such nonsense that puts a divide between people.

[Liv]

I totally agree with you! People get ridiculed nowadays for being intelligent. Now keep in mind that I'm only a 13 year old girl, but I have an iq of 140 so nonetheless I can still agree. Society has completely screwed up our morals and values. They say "Who cares? She's fifteen! I think she's old enough to have a kid!" or "Abortion? Of course it should be legal! Why burden a mother with an unwanted child?" it sickens me how messed up our country and world is. Have you ever wondered why people always are like "NO! Not the death penalty? What about second chances! Give him mercy!" yet it is completely legal to have an abortion. What the heck is wrong with that image? Everything. People are not valuing intelligence as much as they should. Nice to see someone who doesn't completely love this country too(: sorry for my rant!

[Gar]

Society has always been stupid

[Mark]

Very much so. The media (meaning TV, radio, and journalism) only gives people what they perceive that people want. The media (meaning places like this site, "social networking" sites, and the Internet in general) are neutral, but some people don't use them the right way.

Case in point: people who come on here to ASK people to do their homework for them, free, and I don't mean opinions or truly hard questions, but things like "what is 5 x 6? Please show your work, give references, and spell-check".