Is the Internet making people dumber, or is it just exposing all the dumb people?

[Holy War]

Honest question here.

I was browsing youtube comments (my first mistake) on "The Pacific," trailer page:, and the combination of the grammer used as well as what people think of history to actually be true, just completely blew my mind. Let me reiterate that: completely blew my mind.

Maybe its because I have a B.A. in History from a military college and am actually a US Marine, but I just can not believe my own eyes when I read some of this stuff. Ill even give some of them the benefit of the doubt, and say that what I thought was common knowledge, just may not be. This, however, does not excuse all of it.

So is it all the false knowledge out there on the web from poor resources filling people's minds with this crap, or are people really just that plain stupid?

Lastly, Im not trying to make a "Im holier than thou," statement here. Ive been wrong many times about many things before, and will continue to make mistakes in the future. Its as if, though, that some of these people just do not use any common sense what so ever, nor do they put any effort into writing a fully complete thought or sentence. I just can not believe what I am reading half the time I hit that little Internet Explorer button on my desktop, and its just not on youtube, but everywhere (except TB of course ).

So in your opinion, what is it? Is the internet making people dumber, or are we as a whole just plain stupid?

[Honk'n_down-low]

Originally Posted by Holy War

Honest question here.

I was browsing youtube comments (my first mistake) on "The Pacific," trailer page:, and the combination of the grammer used as well as what people think of history to actually be true, just completely blew my mind. Let me reiterate that: completely blew my mind.

Maybe its because I have a B.A. in History from a military college and am actually a US Marine, but I just can not believe my own eyes when I read some of this stuff. Ill even give some of them the benefit of the doubt, and say that what I thought was common knowledge, just may not be. This, however, does not excuse all of it.

So is it all the false knowledge out there on the web from poor resources filling people's minds with this crap, or are people really just that plain stupid?

Lastly, Im not trying to make a "Im holier than thou," statement here. Ive been wrong many times about many things before, and will continue to make mistakes in the future. Its as if, though, that some of these people just do not use any common sense what so ever, nor do they put any effort into writing a fully complete thought or sentence. I just can not believe what I am reading half the time I hit that little Internet Explorer button on my desktop, and its just not on youtube, but everywhere (except TB of course ).

So in your opinion, what is it? Is the internet making people dumber, or are we as a whole just plain stupid?

Both!

[turbo chicken]

it's not the internet's fault...

unless what your really saying is the internet is controlling people... then i'd just be on the fence

[lunarpollen]

There are a lot of stupid people out there; the internet being everywhere now makes it more frequent for the rest of us to have to come across the blathering of the stupids.

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by Holy War

So in your opinion, what is it? Is the internet making people dumber, or are we as a whole just plain stupid?

Just about 50% of the population are subnormal. Scary, isn't it?

25 years ago you had to be working for a government agency or hold a PhD to get on the internet. Now everybody is here and wanting to make a noise.

[steamthief]

The poll needs a "both" option!

[Simo98]

People were already stupid.

The amazing thing about the internet is what it does to peoples behaviour.

once upon a time people would be quiet and listen, then learn and do some research, and them maybe discuss the topic. They didn't want to blurt out what they saw on the news once because if they happen to be wrong, it would be embarrasing. except maybe a few stupid people who can never keep their mouth shut.

Nowdays, i can go ahead and post my stupid opinion on the internet, nobody knows who i am, and im not embarrased.

This is what makes it look like there are more people stupider, people just say what they think without doing any research because worst case scenario, they are competely wrong and everyone calls them a stupid noob, the go make a new username and sign on and call themself a stupid noob too.

Its also where a lot of stupid new age ideas come from, normally these ideas would be so completely obsceur that the chances of anyone else within a thousand miles agreeing with you were very slim, not to mention the chance of actually finding that person. Now you can post it anonymously on the internet, and that one person can find you and discuss that idea.

Its both amazing and terrible at the same time.

[crockpot2001]

I hear you loud and clear!

Google "nutrition" and see what you come up with. It's beyond my vocabulary to begin to tell you the stories (outright lies, usually) about nutrition based products or people's ideas of proper nutrition. People jump on this junk like it's the Gospel truth. The result is that if someone asks an open and honest question about medical nutrition, of which I am medically licensed to provide, and I post a tactful evidence-based response (which I limit only to nutrition) the purely contrarian arguments (loaded with junk science from the interwebs) that follow could keep me chained to the computer for hours or more. People just want to argue and never admit that they were wrong and base their arguments on nothing more than (x) said so.

My response is that I seldom post about nutrition unless someone is taking a step closer to hurting themselves.

[rarisgod]

Originally Posted by Honk'n_down-low

Both!

My exact thoughts, hence not voting.

[Metaltronix]

The internet makes you stupid.

[FL Knifemaker]

The dumbest in our society have no computer or internet connection and feel no need to have it. This includes while being unemployed. A good friend of mine works at our local job center. The horror stories are a plenty

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Holy War

Honest question here.

I was browsing youtube comments (my first mistake) on "The Pacific," trailer page:, and the combination of the grammer ....

Did you mean Grammar..?

I see it as both - so people think they don't need to learn - they will just find anything on the net... with an inevitable decline in standards!

But also - people who were idiots, before were generally hidden away - but now they can expose their stupidity to the whole world very easily!

[spade2you]

I wish there were an option to choose both since it's 6 of one, a half dozen of the other.

From a psychology, too much of the internet is about winning debates. I think the idea that everyone is a winner has turned a lot of people into legends in their own minds.

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

The dumbest in our society have no computer or internet connection and feel no need to have it. This includes while being unemployed. A good friend of mine works at our local job center. The horror stories are a plenty

Please elaborate.

[coreyfyfe]

I'm going to tackle your two statements in reverse here...

Originally Posted by Holy War

Lastly, Im not trying to make a "Im holier than thou," statement here. Ive been wrong many times about many things before, and will continue to make mistakes in the future. Its as if, though, that some of these people just do not use any common sense what so ever, nor do they put any effort into writing a fully complete thought or sentence. I just can not believe what I am reading half the time I hit that little Internet Explorer button on my desktop, and its just not on youtube, but everywhere (except TB of course ).

People need to learn from their mistakes, that is what separates intelligence levels. Do you continue along your own line of reasoning no matter what other information is presented, or do you ingest what you read and refine your view (either to incorporate new information or to refute this information based upon prior knowledge/other sources - not saying you have to change your mind). Common sense falls in line with this theory, have you not learned enough to discern what is fact and what is fiction? Or to be able to discover what is fact and what is fiction? It's not that you have to have a fool-proof ability to detect misinformation, but you have to be able to understand what can be taken at face value, what information may be biased, and what information needs further research before it can be repeated as fact. Further to this, if people cannot or will not put in the effort to properly inform themselves, it's really no surprise that these people will not have the ability to express themselves in anything more than fragmented bits of impulsive speech.

Originally Posted by Holy War

So is it all the false knowledge out there on the web from poor resources filling people's minds with this crap, or are people really just that plain stupid?

Relating back to what I said above, I don't think it's the false information, I think it's people's inability to discern the level of confidence they should hold in the particular sources they read and/or listen to. So some dip wrote a long piece of dribble on an internet forum filled with self-importance and semi-thoughtful sentences (), doesn't mean that person is right or can be trusted fully.

Normally, you only hear the loudest voices, and those are usually the ones who can articulate a position well enough that people will fall in line. On a forum, comments page, website, etc, you hear every voice semi-equally.

[need4mospd]

I'd say the internet is making people smarter, but maybe I'm just speaking for myself. Think of how many things you can just "google" now and find out the answer. I do this on a daily basis, whether it be definitions of words I don't know or perhaps some history or even gear research on this site.

[Holy War]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Did you mean Grammar..?

I see it as both - so people think they don't need to learn - they will just find anything on the net... with an inevitable decline in standards!

But also - people who were idiots, before were generally hidden away - but now they can expose their stupidity to the whole world very easily!

No, I meant 'grammar.'

[DukDukGuus]

Hey, hey, HEY. Keep my Gramm'er out of this discussion! (Rest her soul.)

I worked for a time as a volunteer literacy trainer for folks who either had problems with the English language, or those for whom English wasn't their original language. What a great gig. These were people trying to manage their way through a day, a job, a life without having the sharpest tool in the drawer: communication. What an honor to give them a bit of a boost.

Having said that, though, imagine all the people who have that same problem, but continue to use their form of language as a blunt object. It becomes a badge of honor to misuse, abuse and mangle their words. IMHO, your ability to be logical, to reason and to think is based on the language you speak, and the language you use, internally, to THINK. I try to spend less time reading some of the lower-hanging fruit on the internet, and more time IN HERE!

[dullsilver_mike]

Most outlets for communication on the internet are conducive to discussion a mile wide and an inch deep. You can look up and discuss anything you want very easily. It's very difficult to use the internet to understand the contexts and systems of discourse that allow someone to have an in depth look at a subject and then communicate the knowledge he finds to others. That's where your college education sets you apart in one field from lay people. Not only do you know more historical facts, you understand how to talk about history and the contexts in which other people have been discussing history.

Think of internet discussion as analagous to a giant text message. The actual medium of communication usually limits how in depth and thoughtful your statements can be. You can send hundreds of texts in a day, but 499 out of 500 are going to be some banal, pre-packaged phrases that doesn't have any real meaning or thought in it: "what's up," "work sucks today", etc. or forwarded messages that the user didn't even construct.

The internet isn't quite as bad, but the analogy holds up. Sometimes we're lucky to find pockets of real discussion---like, dare I say, on some non-off topic sections of TB--but it's not the norm, and you're certainly not likely to find anything like that in the comments section of a video, news, blog, or review site.

[bass12]

Well, there are definitely a lot of morons out there! While the internet can be a great tool, it also affords virtually anyone the opportunity to "express themselves" via Youtube posts, forum posts, blogs, etc. My concern is not so much with the misinformation or stupid thoughts that may get posted (if one relies strictly on the internet while doing research then there is already a problem) but rather with negative reinforcement regarding spelling, grammar and sentence structure. I, for one, have become so used to seeing certain words misspelled that I second-guess myself sometimes when writing those words. I care about language - I see it as something of an art form - but a lot of people don't. These people often feel that as long as they are understood, everything is fine. You now have a significant portion of the population that sees the mangling of language (via text-speak, among other things) as a perfectly acceptable practice. It's all about short-term "practicality" in the interest of saving time and energy (the energy that is expended when we actually have to think about what we are writing). At no other time since before the invention of the printing press have people who were otherwise fairly well educated come across as being so dumb! Bad spelling, bad grammar, mixed metaphors, misuse of words - all reinforced daily. The worst thing is that these perpetrators are showing up increasingly in print media as well, confusing the situation even more. But to answer your question more succinctly, both.

Now I have to re-read my post carefully to make sure I haven't made any mistakes with my spelling or grammar...