Technology Produces Idiots. Is Steemit The Solution?
Facebook fills my newsfeed with videos like “What kind of Asian are you?” While an occasional funny video may be entertaining, I'm afraid constant exposure is not beneficial, and maybe even harmful.
Present company excluded, of course, it is debatable that people are becoming less intelligent. Maybe this is happening because we are feeding ourselves excessive amounts of unhealthy food and sugar? Perhaps it’s because of pesticides, MSG, GMO, fluoride, or other junk we put in our bodies? Another possibility is it’s because of the information we consume.
Each day, the average person spends 50 minutes on Facebook, 2.8 hours watching TV, and only 19 minutes reading. This is absurd.
When I first came to Steemit, I thought This isn’t for me, I can’t write, and I have no idea what to write about.
While not incapable of writing, my skills were severely lacking. I hadn’t written anything since graduating college six years ago and felt completely useless sitting in front of a Word Doc. With every article, I feel my writing has become more refined, and I’ve been able to write blog posts much more quickly. I went from having no idea of what to write about to having a list of a dozen topics, and this list continues to grow.
It may not sound as much fun to read and write as it does to watch funny videos, but self-improvement and acquiring knowledge can be quite fulfilling.
Embracing learning doesn’t mean we can’t view the occasional Thug Cat or Talking Husky. Before you get back to reading more blog posts, here’s a couple for you:
Steemit's incentive structure encourages constant improvement, new ideas, fresh content, and lengthy educational articles. It promotes the reading of content, critical thinking, and active participation in discussions. I genuinely feel Steemit has made me more intelligent.
What do you think? Is Steemit the first social media platform to make us smarter?
If you enjoy my writing, you can follow me here.
Yes. I've only been on here a week and I feel smarter already :)
That's similar to my experience. I think Steemit has helped with my reading speed, writing abilities, and most of all, creativity. I've also learned a ton from the many articles I have read.
I tend to agree. At first it was just a free for all because of course I had no idea what I was doing. As I understand the platform more I think I am using it more effectively:)
I think the fact that Steemit is purely created by its users and not run by a larger organization is what gives it so much potential. Facebook, for instance, is driven almost completely by algorithms and advertising dollars. You're seeing exactly what Facebook wants you to see and there's nothing you can do about it.
Great content on Steemit is upvoted by people because it is just that... great content. Not because the company with the highest advertising dollars can pay to have it shoved down our throats whether it's quality or garbage.
Hopefully, Steemit can stay pure. There definitely are thousands of people benefitting from content that isn't presented in the skewed Facebook way.
This reminds me of an article from The Onion Horrible Facebook Algorithm Accident Results In Exposure To New Ideas
THanks for your intelligent article. However, I want to strongly oppose your claim that "people are becoming less intelligent". I read the article that you linked, and did a bit of quick research, and most evidence points to the contrary.:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-we-know-humans-getting-smarter-flynn-excerpt/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11200900/The-Flynn-effect-are-we-really-getting-smarter.html
https://www.wired.com/2011/08/are-smart-people-getting-smarter/
I would also like to add that the study referred to in the article you linked to used mental processing speed, or reaction time, as a metric. This is controversial, as it is linked to intelligence, but not a measurement of intelligence. If you read the whole article it does not even conclude that people are becoming less intelligent,it refers to the study but also problematizes that conclusion.
All this being said, there are studies linking high consumption of social media to declining test results for school children, while computer games are linked to improved test results.
So there is a balance perhaps, computer games and search engines can improve intelligence while social media might diminish it, at least if used exessively,as is also true of television. And in earlier times, working in a factory or a coalmine or on a farm 12 hours a day is probably not a great boon for your intelligence?
Anyway, just my input, your article was good,and you are followed and upvoted!
I appreciate your input. I'm adding this to my list of future blog post topics; I'll delve into human's changing intelligence over time.
Thank you. I edited my comment, there was an essential word missing.
Edit: If you read the whole article it does not even conclude that people are becoming less intelligent,it refers to the study but also problematizes that conclusion.