I call it information overload for one thing. Think back before the electronic age when access to information was limited. Yes. We had libraries. But it was a chore to learn because it had to be compiled manually and at a pace. This made even a little information more valuable because it was truly earned.
"Gosh. To think what I went through to learn what I did! But it was well worth it. I will always be grateful for what I have accomplished."
But fast forward to modern times. Information overload. Too much access to too much information. And much of that information is tossed around loosely. And much of it is being accessed improperly. For instance. People are no longer compiling information the way they once did. Rather, they are simply trying to find direct answers to questions based on flawed, incomplete, or biased data. Sure. Those things have always existed. But today, they have dominated the information world.
So we have been breeding a generation of self proclaimed know it alls who think they are smart because they have filled their heads with a ton of information their friends and relatives don't have. But it's just filler material. It has accomplished nothing at all because it came in vain. And most of the Internet information is media gossip and meaningless garbage. And it is marketed as the most important info in the world. And that alone is a very big reason why the Internet has had a negative impace on our culture. Long ago, we only saw the news for 30 minutes three times day on television. And many didn't bother watching it. Now it is thrown in everyone's face like the Super Bowl 24/7/365. And its making people very shallow and narrowminded. Not to mention paranoid.
Remember when writers had to type with old fashioned typewriters? Talk about a slow process. But something very significant came with it. But now they type sloppy as hell and a fast pace. And then use spelling correction to fix it all. This has created such a different perspective altogether that it has virtually killed the quality of writing material. Like everything else these days, we end up with too many writers all writing in the same style. There was a time when the only thing in overabundance was a phone book with 5000 lawyers in the same town. Not hard to figure out we don't need more than 100 tops. But today, it's that way with everything. Everyone is for sale. Everyone is an expert. You can't sell anything honestly anymore because everyone is already "informed" about everything. So now we have unlimited business models that revolve around eliminating ethics in favor of "dog eat dog". A bunch of liars trying to sell their "unique" products that are far from unique in reality. But the only thing that has not changed in this world in comparison to 50 years ago is that all the original, unique products in this world are STILL in small numbers. You can bet when something new comes out, a year later 10000 companies will copy it and call it unique.
This is a discussion that could go on and on. But what I have spoken thus far involves the process of how and why people have become really stupid. Smart is a subjective term because anyone can be for or against a single idea and be considered smart by someone else. But stupid has a clear cut meaning. And it fits today's youth like a glove.