ThatWeirdGuy1001

Has anyone else noticed a sudden lack of reading comprehension skills?

https://sh.itjust.works/post/3438145

Has anyone else noticed a sudden lack of reading comprehension skills? - sh.itjust.works

Just as the title asks I’ve noticed a very sharp increase in people just straight up not comprehending what they’re reading. They’ll read it and despite all the information being there, if it’s even slightly out of line from the most straightforward sentence structure, they act like it’s complete gibberish or indecipherable. Has anyone else noticed this? Because honestly it’s making me lose my fucking mind.

Aug 22, 2023 at 8:50pmWeb
Show threadPudutr0nAug 22, 2023
What?
Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 22, 2023
Fuck this is actually funny
Show threadMewtwoAug 22, 2023

Tbh, that was my response lol

I understand what you mean, but I haven’t noticed people not comprehending basic information. Can you give examples?

Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 22, 2023

As a lot of people have already pointed out it’s mostly prevalent in arguments. Like a comment I made on a video about lane splitting on motorcycles.

The video was explaining why lane splitting is safer for cyclists and shows a cyclist get rear ended at a stop light. The title of the video was “Most people don’t understand lane splitting”

I simply commented “No we understand this specific scenario but to continue driving between stopped traffic is completely different”

All the replies to my comment were about lane splitting at a stop sign/stop light. The very thing I specifically stated I understood.

Show threadUranium3006Aug 23, 2023

lane splitting is legal on the highways in california, I don't know about on all streets. it sounds like maybe you shouldn't do it on streets where you'd run into stop lights, or generally anything more complex than the interstate. personally I'm always careful whenever I see a motorcycle.

why is lane splitting safer? intuition suggests that treating a motorcycle like a car and giving them the same space or more would be safer, especially since you could predict what they'd do better since it would be the same as a car

Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 23, 2023
I’m not trying to be rude but did you understand what I said? Lane splitting at a stop light/stop sign/stopped traffic is safer for the cyclist. Lane splitting and continuing to drive between the lanes of stopped traffic is not.
Show threadMouselemmingAug 23, 2023
When all the cars have stopped, that’s the safest time for the cyclist to slither up to the front of the line. At 20 mph on a crowded freeway, it’s a little more dangerous but legal in CA as long as they don’t go more than (iirc) 20 mph faster than traffic. At 65 mph on a still-crowded LA freeway, having a bike race past you doing 90 can be disconcerting to say the least. At least you know if they cause an accident and you’re injured, they’ll probably be your organ donor.
Show threadryathalAug 23, 2023
One reason I’ve been told lane splitting is allowed is because motorcycles are air cooled and stopping for prolonged periods in a traffic jam can be bad for the engine. Also by allowing motorcycles to move forward it frees up space for more cars, though that seems like a small impact.
Show threadMadison420Aug 23, 2023

Well that’s sort of a bad example. What your explaining are two separate things. Filtering (moving to the front of a stopped lane by moving between vehicles stopped or by stopping) and lane splitting (moving between lanes at highway speeds).

Iirc filtering is safer but splitting is like way more dangerous but I’d have to look it up.

Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 23, 2023
Legally they are the same.
Show threadMadison420Aug 23, 2023
Depends on where you say legally.
Show threadKilgore TroutAug 23, 2023
I agree with those replies, your message is not clear.
Show threadzerofkAug 23, 2023
I have to say I find it ironic that all replies here are about the lane splitting too.
Show threadDisgusted_TadpoleAug 22, 2023
Good evening Ozzy !
Show threadTonyTonyChopperAug 23, 2023
when hits you with the ozzy stare 😬
Show threadwallybeavisAug 22, 2023
Show threadMane25Aug 22, 2023
Thanks for your feedback, please follow my blog for more posts like this.
Show threadJumper775Aug 22, 2023
I don’t quite get your meaning here, could eli5
Show threadlustrumAug 22, 2023

Yep. I’ve noticed this in maybe the last 3-4 years. I’ve actually wondered if i’ve started getting dyslexia.

I think realistically it’s more to do with the way I use the internet. I scan articles rather than read them unless it’s something i’m really interested in. Google search results, half of them tend to be bullshit so i’ve gotten good at scanning them at insane speed.

Show threadfoggyAug 22, 2023

Yeah, I literally began typing this response before finishing your post.

…

It’s like with increased information we’ve learned to scan for relevance a lot better, but at the expense of overall comprehension.

Like it gets us by, and gets us through the excess in time.

But, when emotions fly? It’s getting volatile.

Show threadlustrumAug 22, 2023

Massively! I used to read loads of books now I struggle to get through them at all.

I find it easier to listen to a podcast and scan the internet barely taking any information in from either. I have to really concentrate to do either now. I am working at it. Treating reading articles/podcasts as more of a hobby where I try dedicate some time to it where that’s my only focus.

Show threadRaoulDookAug 22, 2023
Yes it’s just one of the many signposts on the road to Idiocracy
Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 22, 2023
The biggest thing no one notices in Idiocracy is that they were still smart enough to find the smartest man alive to fix the problem.
Show threadBlimp7990Aug 23, 2023
ironic considering you failed at reading comprehension just two days ago :(
Show threadangstylittlecatboyAug 23, 2023
Can we start making fun of people who invoke Idiocracy the way we do people who invoke 1984?
Show threadRaoulDookAug 23, 2023
I don’t see why you would, as they are both highly relevant to the shit sandwich our world has become with dumbasses breeding more dumbasses everywhere, and authoritarian surveillance systems watching us everywhere.
Show threadjanNatanAug 22, 2023

It may have something about a change in how we teach kids to read in America about 20 years ago.

apmreports.org/…/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-re…

How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers

For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it.

APM Reports
Show threadamioAug 22, 2023
In what sense, in what context?
Show threadelouboubAug 22, 2023
  • English not the first language for about 7.5 billion people on this planet.
  • More people with English as a second or even third language have a higher reading and comprehension level than the average USAian
  • Many people simply do not know how to write correctly, which only exacerbates the problem
    • Show threadHot SaucermanAug 22, 2023
    54% of US adults only have a sixth grade competency level in reading. 21% of US adults are functionally illiterate.
    Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 22, 2023

    Talking about the 3rd option I think that’s the opposite problem actually. People adhere to the formal rules of the English language so strongly that a slightly incorrect sentence becomes incomprehensible to them.

    Me can create word lines by using wrong words.

    That sentence should not be hard to understand if you’re actually fluent in English. Yet I see more and more people being completely lost and confused like they never even tried to understand in the first place.

    Kinda like a spelling error in their there and they’re. Contextually you should understand which one they meant regardless of mistakes.

    Show threadEntropywinsAug 22, 2023
    There is no way they're being too formal with their writing.
    Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 22, 2023

    It’s not that they’re being too formal it seems that they’re thinking too formal.

    Like they can’t decipher things like a multi use word or an obvious autocorrect mistake.

    If we were talking about birds and I suddenly started using the word bards you should be able to figure out contextually that I’m still talking about birds.

    Show threadcupcake_of_DOOMAug 23, 2023
    Formal is not the word your looking for. Literal. People interpret the words literally. The can't/ don't understand figurative language like sarcasm, symbolism and metaphor.
    Show threadradostin04Aug 23, 2023
    To be fair, sarcasm specifically can be VERY hard to convey via text or even voice, which is where a majority of communication happens nowadays.
    Show threadShdwdrgnAug 22, 2023
    I’m afraid there’s nothing new about this, it has been going on for a long time. What I do believe is happening is now that every idiot with a cell phone can jump of sites like lemmy or reddit, we are simply seeing a lot more examples of the problem. Pretty much like when camcorders became affordable to the general public, we suddenly saw all kinds of police brutality videos and some people thought this must be a recent trend when in fact it had been occurring all along.
    Show threadSerinusAug 22, 2023

    One of my last comments on Reddit was about this.

    The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that people have stopped reading sentences. They’ll read all the words and then upvote based on the feeling those individual words give them. They won’t consider the meaning of all those words put together.

    And yeah, “upvote does not mean agree” is something Reddit has always struggled with, but it has definitely had exponential growth lately.

    Show threadenkersAug 22, 2023
    I was a strong advocate for rediquette for a long time, but the site kept attracting new people who didn’t give a shit about it. You can’t fight the tides of change, I guess.
    Show threadAqariusAug 23, 2023
    The eternal September eventually gets you.
    Show threadsome_guyAug 22, 2023

    to use more simple sentence structure.

    to use simpler sentence structure.

    Show threadSolidGrueAug 22, 2023
    use smol words
    Show threadbigkahuna1986Aug 22, 2023
    Why use many word, when few word do trick?
    Show threadSolidGrueAug 23, 2023
    use less word
    Show threadRoundcatAug 23, 2023
    word less.
    Show threadNatanaelAug 23, 2023
    Brief
    Show threadfknAug 23, 2023
    Few
    Show threadNatanaelAug 23, 2023
    Show threaddreadgoatAug 22, 2023

    One of my favorite Redditisms was picking out incredibly obvious sarcasm with massive downvotes. Bonus points if replied to with a huge angry essay.

    And due to the voting patterns, I learned to be suspicious of my own comments that were highly upvoted. I started to see it as a bad smell. My best work was the controversial stuff.

    Show threadcubedsteaksAug 23, 2023
    My biggest upvotes were always jokes. If I tried to make reasonable points about anything, or god forbid, shared my experiences - I was downvoted into oblivion and people would actively comment to tell me how much they hated my way of thinking or just repeat to me that I need therapy as if going to therapy harder was some how the answer.
    Show threaddreadgoatAug 23, 2023
    Excuse me but you are interrupting my dopamine flow. Your response appears to be neither a meme, rage bait, justice boner, nor even a pun. I hope you learn from this experience and do better.
    Show threadcubedsteaksAug 23, 2023

    “do better” is my person ragebait.

    So many people where I live over use that shit.

    Show threadRoundSparrow @ .eeAug 23, 2023

    If I tried to make reasonable points about anything, or god forbid, shared my experiences - I was downvoted into oblivion

    Introducing quotes from authors that were related to the subject would really show how people were locked in the context of media immediacy, the environment. Links to outside citations would almost always generate replies from people who obviously did not study the citation and just wanted to respond back.

    It used to be something people said ‘out loud’ about people not reading links and just commenting… then it just became normalized.

    Show threadcubedsteaksAug 24, 2023

    oh yeah the good ol’ [citation needed] meme even though they were already given a damn citation.

    Such an obvious sign of someone just responding to respond. Relies on repeating memes as a crutch and can’t have a real discussion about a a topic.

    Show threadShdwdrgnAug 22, 2023

    I’ve had the same experience with people (intentionally or otherwise) misinterpreting what I said to mean something completely opposite. And I call them out on it every time, like seriously did you even READ what I said or did you just see a few words and insert your own beliefs into what you thought I was going to say? I’ve actually had some people admit that yes, they did indeed quickly skim without letting the actual words sink in.

    It’s really a shame that you’re reducing your writing to the lowest common denominator. Sure there may be times when there’s a reason for that (Earth not flat, dummy), but the rest of the time it drags down the whole conversation to a level where it’s difficult to have a meaningful discussion. If someone is really trying to grasp a concept but they’re missing it then of course you need to drop out of the technical jargon to help them get up to speed, but the ones who are there just to ridicule and troll simply aren’t worth the effort to explain simple concepts to (such as your opinion on women’s reproductive rights is meaningless, the only opinion that matters is that of the woman who is affected by the issue). Keep up the high-quality discussions and ignore everyone who doesn’t make the effort to keep up!

    Show threadSerinusAug 23, 2023
    Sure, there’s that. Also, sometimes I just write bad.
    Show threadShdwdrgnAug 23, 2023
    Haha don’t we all!
    Show threadRottcoddAug 23, 2023

    IMO, many (most?) people quite simply don't think about things. They just have some dogmatic positions they've taken for some reasons, and they regurgitate them as necessary.

    And that's a lot of the reason that they so often and so brazenly misinterpret things other people say. They're not actually reading to comprehend - they're reading just to get enough of a feel for it to classify it, so that they'll have some (potentially quite wrong) idea of which bit of rhetoric to trot out in response to it.

    Show threadShdwdrgnAug 23, 2023
    You are not wrong. Reading what you typed, I can’t help but think about the people who have spent so much time defending their self-serving opinions that they can no longer have any reaction other than to start arguing. My ex had a bad case of bi-polar. She was really a great person, but any time someone disagreed with her (or even if she thought they were disagreeing) a switch would flip and she would rage at you until she thought she had won. Even walking away wasn’t enough because then she wanted an admission that she was right. Funny thing was that after that had passed and she calmed down, you could talk to her rationally and she could see your point, but it simply wasn’t worth the effort.
    Show threadcubedsteaksAug 23, 2023

    Keep up the high-quality discussions and ignore everyone who doesn’t make the effort to keep up!

    Yup. This is the only way. Those people are just trying to get responses. The only way to get win is to not give them what they want.

    Show threadShdwdrgnAug 23, 2023
    Honestly I feel like the only reason they do this is to bring people down to their level so they can feel like they are somehow smarter, because that’s a lot less effort than actually learning about the subject. Ah well.