Lately, I’ve been noticing a decline in intellectualism in North America. People going to school only for the degree—not to learn or create new experiences. Having multiple study halls in a high school schedule. Ridiculing others for enjoying reading or liking school or thinking deeply. Education is so accessible nowadays, people forget it only recently became a widespread privilege. Historically, education was reserved for rich white men—having it extend to any other group is a modern idea.
I think that wasting away time in school is no less than ridiculous. How do you have access to countless unique electives ready to teach you skills you have no experience in, yet you choose to sit around for 90 minutes while mind-numbingly scrolling? I do not understand how others don’t crave to learn the unknown. When I see others in my school, they are irritated at the idea of having to read in a literature class or write a lab report in chemistry or have a lengthy history class. They hardly absorb any information learned and write at a fourth grade level. Chat-GPT has only worsened peoples ability to properly complete an assignment and learn the basic critical thinking skills they need for life.
At a time where school funding is being reduced, the pursuit of knowledge is crucial. There is a reason why more books are being banned and getting quality education is becoming harder. Being uneducated about the world leads to right-wing beliefs. Garnering support is easiest when the public is frustrated and uneducated, but this is something people cannot recognize due to their own lack of media literacy. It’s a frustrating circle.
So, in my small attempt to combat this, I’m spending my year reading as many books as I can and taking all opportunities to learn new skills. My one study hall is spent in my school’s art class, where I challenge myself to use any medium I do not already know. I read when I wait instead of scrolling. I journal daily and reflect on everything. Nothing is ever “not that deep.” Go to your local/digital library, use community resources, find free online resources to learn.
Rest is important and we do not need to always be learning, but completely abandoning any way to learn is denying yourself an important privilege.
I’m also double minoring in two humanities (my major is marine bio) and taking random electives on top of that. Having a career keeps you alive, but art and knowledge is something to live for.
// this was typed in one shot so I hope I explained myself clearly. I just had to type this rant out somewhere lolol. These are my observations in the US and Canada (I’ve done school in both)
Comments
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Georg
Thank you so much for writing this blog! Unfortunately, anti-intellectualism seems to happen worldwide, at least I see this happening in my country too (in which the school abandon rate is one of the highest in Europe). I think wanting to know more in these times is CRUCIAL, due to social media being used as a weapon, especially the mainstream platforms. By knowing more, people would be less likely to be manipulated.
This post is some food for thought, really. I hope more people will get to read it.
Georg
Thank you so much for writing this blog! Unfortunately, anti-intellectualism seems to happen worldwide, at least I see this happening in my country too (in which the school abandon rate is one of the highest in Europe). I think wanting to know more in these times is CRUCIAL, due to social media being used as a weapon, especially the mainstream platforms. By knowing more, people would be less likely to be manipulated.
This post is some food for thought, really. I hope more people will get to read it.
✭magglez✭
the way you're so right
hafie
the decline is not only happening to north America, but, all around the world.
Yeah I’m just commenting on my experiences since I’ve only studied in North America
by gravityoflove; ; Report
yawzyyy
Especially w trump removing the department of education, im sure it's gonna get worse from now on. My personal theory is that Trump and his MAGA/the upper class agenda are promoting this anti-intellectualism so it's easier to 'control' the middle class, and all that stuff. idk it's just my own theory
xxRebellious_Emmaxx
I really noticed this problem around my senior year of high school, where some of my friends basically suggested selling my soul to the generative A"I" conglomerates to "help" me complete my senior portfolio.
In the end, I chose to do everything manually, using my own brain and 2 hands, the good old fashioned way. There was no way in hell I was going to use or trust some stupid robot to get this sort of important documentation for my graduation completed. And I'm glad that I've chosen humanity over feeding the gluttonous big tech billionaires.
It's a shame how our society has come to this.
lolon004
I do academic coaching for a living. The amount of times I heard my students say "I don't have a dream, any degree should be fine" is countless. It sadness me but that is because of the lack of sight! Does people know what they're missing? After just giving couple of options and listing all the cool things a student can accomplish and feel productive, I saw huge changes in the mindset of those you talk about. Wish more teachers could the same
poie
It's bcuz of that damn phone, doom scrolling is distracting us making us ignorant to what's relevant anymore
nah, i'm almost sure that's not the case. i'm from venezuela and most schools don't allow students to use the phone in class, and at least in my school, they won't allow you to even look at your phone. LMAO there was a time they checked our backpacks to see if we had the phone on there.







so yeah
and many kids do not have a phone because lmaoooo we're poor
by freakicokris ☆ | FREE VENEZUELA 🇻🇪🕊️; ; Report
but i do agree that regardless of that, social media is a part of that, specially because we consume too much content but we don't learn anything from it :3
by freakicokris ☆ | FREE VENEZUELA 🇻🇪🕊️; ; Report
Mroweczka2007
I like gooning to skibidi toilet at the school bathroom




same
by d3lia; ; Report
Gloomy
I share all of your sentiments, but I have to add that sometimes, it is hard to keep up with everything going at school, especially when you aim to be a good student. Education is no less than a blessing, but said blessing shouldn't take away from our time of rest. I know that most probably do not share the same problem as I do, but I urge you people to take things a little slower nonetheless! :)
𝕻𝖗𝖚𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊
Honestly, I feel like AI ruined everything. Sure, AI can be used for 'some' good, but ever since the introduction of ChatGPT, there's just less of an incentive to learn since it's so readily available now. I also think that the whole Anti-Intellectualism movement is also caused by how overpopulated and shitty the American school system is.
Kaznik
I see that, for some reason, teenage/young boys see these movements as a "rebellion", ¿Against what?
I don't know.
I think it might be because of the increasing popularity of the left movement. Every time, something gets popular, there is always a bunch of people that encourage the hatred towards it.
johnathan
I agree. I'm ready for a serious change to happen within humans, or I will no longer dwell amongst them. (No really. I will become a hermit.)
Natt
It's so true!! I see people in college slacking off... Like why are you here then?? It's so weird seeing people disrespect education as if it isn't the foundation of society. I'm glad I'm going to a good uni, I won't see "ugh I'll just chatGPT the assignment and cheat on the exam" kinda people
evangeline
i've noticed a similar thing happening in europe, the use of AI for pretty much everything in daily life is far too widespread for my liking. people are willing to use chatgpt for answers to any question they have, even though it's wrong a lot of the time, because they don't want to actually learn anything. it's easy to take the quick way out but it does nothing for you personally, honestly rots your brain.
it's pretty concerning over here, with the rise of the far-right & just how much they use social media to sway people, it's sad to see that nobody wants to think critically about what those in positions of power will say to us. anti-intellectualism (at least from what i've seen) makes people much easier influenced by propoganda, they don't want to examine the actual reasons behind anything, they're content to just float through life without thinking. it's dangerous, especially in the current climate, escpecially since history, as a humanities subject, is very easily ignored by those who don't want us to think freely.
have you read "pedagogy of the oppressed" by paolo friere? i think you'd enjoy his writing about the education system.
thank you for writing this blog, you raised your point much more eloquently than i have lol
Exactly, it sucks to see how mindless people have become and that they’re not the ones who will read this post. I’m glad that other people understand, it is worrisome to see how people and society are intellectually degrading.
Hmm not yet but I’ll definitely add that to my TBR list, thank you!
Ofc and dont discredit yourself lol I agree with all of your points too
by gravityoflove; ; Report
bullet
I thought this was very well written, and I couldn't agree more with you.
Skrunkly Fops
What in the hell do race or politics have to do with intellectualism? Intellect has nothing to do with either of those things. There are intellectuals from all races, creeds, and belief-systems. Focus on your journey, and take advantage while it's easy to shine brightly, rather than focus on a problem that has existed and will continue to exist for the entirety of human history.
Being able to access culture and knowledge is politics, why do you think white people prohibited black people and others from going to schools in the US for so long? Black people weren't even allowed to build their own schools, for the building materials stores refused to sell their goods to those with the goal of schooling black people. A lot of poor people are just unable to access undergraduate degress in the US because it is not even affordable; there is less and less scholarships available for the poorer and people of color to access tertiary education in Brasil and admission to public universities is extremely competitive. Numerous countries are jeopardising the standards of education in the humanities and compromising the students' literacy.
by Maiden Death; ; Report
Black people in the US had to fight to be able to go to school: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_during_the_slave_period_in_the_United_States
According to the new survey (2023), 29.5 per cent of (Brasilian) white people aged 18 to 24 were in higher education and 6.5 per cent had already graduated. Among black and brown Brasilians, there are only 16.4 per cent studying for a degree and 2.9 per cent with a diploma: https://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2024/03/26/desigualdade-entre-brancos-e-negros-no-ensino-vai-da-alfabetizacao-a-universidade.ghtml
by Maiden Death; ; Report
You're barking up the wrong tree about college. I think college is a scam, and has been for quite some time. Many of the most successful people in America never went to college. And rehashing historical issues that are currently not relevant doesn't help in any way. In fact, until affirmative action was recently overturned, the vast majority of colleges were biased against accepting white students and chose to favor non-whites, rather than focus on merit.
by Skrunkly Fops; ; Report
Sarah
I've been noticing this too! Lately if I tell my friends a fun fact or know the answer to something, people always call me a nerd as if it wouldn't be common to know basic things (like geography or even something we learned in class). I feel like nowadays passion is dead or close to it, because when I talk to people they have NO idea what they want to do with their lives (for context I'm a junior, so this is the year where we have to start thinking about our college majors). People have started viewing passion as cringe, especially if you have no need to either know stuff about it or have no need to consume it. I think it is so important to keep learning and keep finding new things to enjoy and make, because that is what makes people especially interesting.
Honestly, I dont know how you find people like that, it is such an intoxicating view on life if they dont bother to learn to fufill the gaps of a certain interest but rather for utility ex. getting a degree. Like I get it you know the competitiveness in education and on the job market wtv. but for instance, I also see a lot of stem students complain about their work/courses even if they worked so hard on it during college/uni and they would admit its because the job market they went into stem.
Also, I also noticed many people are starting to hate on the social sciences from the utility view. Like, for example, currently im in college for child studies and I really enjoy my program but a lot of people were very crude about their views on the program and bluntly say "teachers are underpaid and over worked" "getting a degree to go back to working at a school is insane" "Teaching is not that "economy efficient" (?? idk what that means) and then they go ahead and recommend Comp.Sci or any stem/finance/business majors?
by Sumaita; ; Report
OwlLipgloss
Kudos! Art and knowledge are both something I always cherish close to me, art being the major one. Testing out different mediums is always really fun. I appreciate the education I have now because if it was much longer ago, I wouldn't have had that opportunity. I have an admiration for things that tell me more that were otherwise shunned from the majority, which is why I adore reading banned books. Banning books is repressing freedom.
To say the least, America was never free in the first place.
It makes me sad how many things seemed to regress in the education scene. ChatGPT should only be used for ideas on starting the first sentence of a draft. Believe me, teachers immediately know when you used AI instead of your own work (hint hint common themes for papers written in suspiciously similar styles). I've learned to consume what I learn but also take care of my body. It's that healthy balance that keeps me up. We also need professors that understand more often, same with better healthcare (that should be free) and so much more.
Jo ⚧
Kudos! I do have the same goals as you as trying to read and learn as much as I can. But to add on, I also try to add in some time to just think. Deeply too not in a superficial manner, which gets in touch with creativity and deepens your perception in things.
It's quite sad about the technology-advanced world we live in. It's a nice short cut for doing the insufferable (but needed) things of life. And a great tool to not pay attention to anything, I mean try to watch the whole lord of the rings trilogy with someone!