[chneu]

It's not. Everytime there's a new form of media or communication there's an uptick in "bad actors". Think yellow journalism or any of the moral panics around TV programming. Even back when the printing press was invented there was an uptick in troll behavior. One of the Green brothers posited that martin Luther was really just a pamphlet troll.

With social media and the Internet, stupid just got louder. I don't think people got stupid.

[sdsd]

Yes and no. In swaths of the world, we're actually observing a reverse Flynn effect and IQ has been dropping, in some places for decades.

Eg: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-...

[jimbob45]

IQ tests are administration-sensitive and have changed dramatically since the beginning of such a Flynn effect study. The population makeup of many countries has changed in recent years to include many immigrants for whom the study would make exceedingly little sense to include. IQ tests do not cover and do not claim to cover a comprehensive view of human intelligence, famously lacking verbal and social components entirely. It is possible past IQ tests were simply overtuned and we’re now seeing the natural correction.

[_Algernon_]

This started long before the internet.

[trollbridge]

Started in 2006 in Denmark and seemed to start a few years ago in the U.S… coinciding with smartphones (which I think will make us even dumber).

[codeflo]

Amplifying stupid can be very deadly, though. In some sense, the printing press caused the 30-year war, and radio brought us World War II. Eventually, society will adapt. I just wish we could find a way to adapt faster than the bad actors do.

[KineticLensman]

> In some sense, the printing press caused the 30-year war,

Well the 30-year war definitely showed technology-driven speed-up. Before the printing press we had wars that lasted for 100 years [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War

[codeflo]

Just to be clear, that "speed-up" is not a good thing: Those 100 years were a lot less deadly in total. The World Wars were even shorter and much deadlier still. A possible next full-blown conflict between major powers will only last hours -- and end civilization.

[daseiner1]

i think it’s consensus that yellow journalism directly led to the spanish-american war via hearst

[disqard]

(continuing in that vein, and taking the liberty of making a giant oversimplification):

...and TV brought us Ronald Reagan, and the Internet gave us Trump as POTUS.

[croes]

Not just louder, it got in power

[baxtr]

Yes. Exactly right.

Also well documented. Anyone interested, read the book: Attention Merchants by Wu.