A Nation of Dunces?

The Dumbing Down of America

I just finished an interesting book: “The Age of American Unreason” by Susan Jacoby. It is the author's contention that Americans in general are becoming dumber and dumber and have actually have grown hostile to knowledge.

Although many factors are to blame, according to the book, the primary culprit is our infatuation and increasing reliance on imagery rather than the printed word.

Infotainment (Internet, TV, Game Consoles, etc.)

In her analysis, our addiction to infotainment and the almost instantaneous gratification that these visually-stimulating media all provide has clouded our intellect—by not only weaning us away from the printed word (newspapers and books)—but by turning us into spectators rather than participants in the art of higher–level thinking and conversation.

Combining historical analysis with contemporary observation, Jacoby paints a disturbing portrait for contemporary American culture. Quoting statistics from a variety of nationwide surveys as well as first-person encounters with a sampling of both our youth and unenlightened “average Joes” across the States, she concludes: ”Television, video games and the Internet have created a ‘culture of distraction’ that has dangerously shortened our attention spans. Not only are American citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, but they also don’t think it matters."

A Digital Digression?

Although I tend to agree with much of the findings; as a unofficial advocate of “new media” (i.e., multimedia & the web, pop music with a message), I think she overstates the case and many times fails to take into account the benefits of a moderate and balanced intake of “new-school” digital media with the “old-school” traditional forms.

Periods of intense cultural change are always disturbing, and there is no doubt that we are now in the midst of an enormous upheaval as more and more of the bits and pieces that make up our everyday lives move into the digital realm.

A steady stream of Jackass videos or Japanese bathroom pranks on YouTube aren't benchmarks for the digital culture any more than Stephen King's pulp fiction or Jacqueline Susan's romance novels are a yardstick to measure the printed world by.

Al Gore’s film ”An Inconvenient Truth” relied heavily on visuals and it’s popularity grew via the viral recommendations of the blogosphere—certainly eclipsing any printed counterpart in terms of the global audience it reached and empowered. Should we pine over this change in our means of disseminating relevant information? Are statistics listed in sequence more scientifically valid than the same data displayed in a chart or graph? Should we condemn the high-impact of animation and visual imagery as less newsworthy or reliable than the printed word?

A Disturbing Disdain for Logic and Evidence

Aside from lambasting contemporary digital media, other parts of her analysis seemed to resonate and hit home. What should be major concerns for all Americans are some of the trends she examines...

• Declining literacy, not only in reading, but in history and geography
• Radio and TV programming devoted to bad taste and insult humor
• Talk shows that nurture the politics of partisanship and anger where listening and rational discourse is no longer an option
• Religious fundamentalism’s assault on Darwinism evidenced by the popular embrace of creationism and intelligent design

When you finish this book you realize the statistics and future expectations by and for the citizens of this country are bleak at best.

American Idle?

As the world becomes more and more globally intertwined—in economics, in energy dependence, in mass emigration—it is critical to take stock of exactly what we've become as a nation and as individuals. How will we survive as the world becomes increasingly competitive and nation’s must compete against each other for the last drop of oil or the last sliver of arable land?

next>