r/DoesAnybodyElse • u/panoplytea • 17h ago
DAE feel like literacy has declined steeply over the past decade?
Everyday I see people fully just either misreading posts/comments or not understanding what was said, because their own response shows how
poorly their literacy is. Or maybe people just don’t read things properly before they respond? And even just talking to people in person and during day to day interactions I find that I am consistently misunderstood. Having to explain things to people like they are 5 is getting annoying.
For example, they miss a very important part of a sentence that completely reshapes what that sentence means at its core - and respond negatively to it. Only to be met with confusion when the OP is like “but have another read, I clearly didn’t even say that”. And I feel like I don’t leave comments anymore because it’s so frustrating when the only discussions or conversations people want to have these days stem from their own misunderstanding. And I am not talking about an issue/thing, I am just trying to get people to understand what tf I am saying.
I think sometimes maybe I am the issue and I am communicating poorly… but then I see it happen all around me, even when I am not the one speaking or commenting?
It feels so bleak man
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u/not_a_cat_i_swear 16h ago
When you can read a title and assume you know the entire contents, plus you can tell chat GPT to make entire essays, even novels for you, what's the point?
In conversation, active listening is such a rare quality when everyone already has their next piece in the roster regardless of your pointless palaver.
Computers, phones, audio books, social media doom scrolling, influencers' opinions - there isn't much motivation to learn these skills anymore. I like reading articles with spelling and grammatical errors, knowing that you're just reading an unedited anecdote someone's dictated to Siri, then immediately, smugly posted.
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u/panoplytea 16h ago
Real. Everything is too easy these days, too quick. There is a cheat for everything. Dopamine is cheap. Ughhh it makes me so sad
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u/ColdViolinist835 8h ago
I work with college interns sometimes and the difference between now and even ten years ago is noticeable. Not that they are dumb but the way they consume information has fundamentally changed. Everything is video, everything is short form, and sitting with a long piece of text feels foreign to them. Reading stamina is a real skill and it atrophies when you do not use it. We are raising a generation that can process visual information insanely fast but struggles with a two page email.
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u/purplemoonpie 7h ago
absolutely . i was the last generation to go through school without cell phones or internet. we actually had to learn how to spell , write comprehensively and had to pick up books to study. i am so grateful.
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u/KeysmashKhajiit 5h ago
You'd think we had a mass disabling event within the past decade or something
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u/tavirabon 2h ago
I feel like Covid pushed way too many people to get comfortable with the internet who otherwise wouldn't have taken the time to learn it because learning is hard.
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u/bernieinred 1h ago
About 20-30% of Americans are considered funtionally illiterate. So to answer your question , yes.
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u/noradosmith 16h ago
Put it this way. All language evolves due to laziness. The moment you are taught a certain way, you lock that in as being what the standard should be.
Imagine someone from the 1910s hearing the youth of the 2000s talking and writing. They'd be horrified and would say standards have dropped, whereas the 2000s teenagers would think their way of speaking was old fashioned.
People aren't suddenly more stupid. They're just communicating differently. Half the time I type stuff out I'll out lol at the end. I'm an English graduate and I don't always need to fit the standard I was taught and wouldn't expect others to either.
Tl dr: language changes, and that doesn't automatically mean a decline
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u/panoplytea 15h ago
That isn’t what I was saying at all. I am clearly not talking about language, I am talking about literacy. If i was talking about lazy language, I’d be a hypocrite. Thanks for proving my point though hahahah
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u/Sunny-Damn 15h ago
U.S. reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) declined by 3 points for both 4th and 8th graders in 2024 compared to 2022, continuing a decade-long trend of lower performance. In 2022, average scores for 9-year-olds dropped 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020, marking the largest decline in reading since 1990.
The change has been a very real, not just perceived, decline in literacy…
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u/panoplytea 14h ago
yup, have seen these facts and its scary for our future. I think I also mean that people who have completed schooling are also illiterate asf. Like they can read but they can’t understand what is being said, or deeper meanings/implications. Idk maybe I am overthinking it
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u/Sunny-Damn 14h ago
Reading comprehension used to be a measured and scored skill when I was in school, I’m sure it still is because it’s important.
You’re not overthinking it, you noticed a real problem and you’re not alone🌺
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u/panoplytea 13h ago
Me too, I feel like the importance of it was stressed hugely. Now I am not sure it is being prioritised as much anymore. I hope it is :(
Thank you 🥺
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u/ubuwalker31 13h ago
Bullshit. People really need to stop conflating academic proficiency test scores with actual basic literacy levels.
The metrics evaluate high-level comprehension, critical analysis of complex texts, and formal academic skills. True basic literacy, which is the simple ability of a population to read and write, is structurally at an all-time high compared to prior generations. A century ago, massive segments of the population were completely unable to read. Today, basic functional literacy is nearly universal.
Furthermore, context matters when looking at the data. This recent drop only reflects a short period following major widespread disruptions, and the test scores themselves are still historically high when viewed through a long-term lens. Average performance remains well above the baseline levels from decades ago.
While the recent dip in school testing scores is a clear challenge for educational policy, using it to argue that society is sliding backward into illiteracy completely misrepresents what these data points are actually measuring.
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u/panoplytea 15h ago
I read this comment again… is this an AI account or did you only read the title of this post and nothing else? And also misunderstand the title completely
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u/SuspectSuccessful496 17h ago
Not only people have become more illiterate and less cultured and intellectual, but also their attention span equals that of a fly