I read some information that I had seen before and thought i would share it here because there are lots of young people who are in my view being affected by this issue. It is NOT a political issue but a cultural of society issue that is progressing in a rather interesting direction.

“Dumbing down” is caused by some of the following multiple influences.
The list contains what could be the reason why the world is headed in a direction many see as on a collision course with self destruction. What do you think?


the erosion of authority (in the text, in politicians, the church, parents, teachers, tradition, etc). The malign influence of cultural relativist propaganda.

family instability, value shifts, changing beliefs about what life "should" offer and how much "effort" is required, an increasing sense of powerlessness over work in a global economy.

changing values that give permission to the expression and release of certain personality and behavioural patterns that were previously less acceptable

related to the above, populism, an apparent democratisation of culture, and the downward trends in taste and discrimination seen in market-directed art and entertainment, produce a culture of consumption rather than a culture of intelligence.

changes in social organisation to smaller families that have less time for childcare, changing work patterns, and age-stratified social grouping that not only affect family structure but have emotional consequences in the next generation

the influence and pervasiveness of media influences as discussed above

the loss of the feeling of certainty, of being rooted in a real community with deep ties to others, together with constant change and a loss of the sense that things are getting better and the world is improving. “Why should I bother” and a hedonistic orientation may be the result.

the move into a society that values economics above most other values. Neoliberalism since the 1970s has set out to disempower and depoliticise the general population, the better to empower business. Discipline, deskilling, and fear at work have devalued experience and skill and hence age; you survive and prosper through opportunism rather than wisdom.
changes in educational priorities and philosophies and changes in parenting practices and family dynamics

a move into individualism and self-centredness: a culture that promotes egotism informed by a sense of entitlement leading to an expectation that everything is permitted and that no limitations should be placed on actions or desires.

the increasing commoditisation of social life, and the consequent rise of advertising and publicity as the key culture, tend to promote knowledge as soundbite, enjoyment as sensation, and repute as celebrity - all characteristics of adolescent culture.

the cult of youth has led to a fractured dialogue between the generations, an end of the communicating of vital experience and wisdom from one generation to the next. This has led to a gross impoverishment for society, a loss of shared values, social stability and cohesion. Because young people are seen merely as a market and treated as consumers only, a shallow and banal mass culture has been promoted.

all these have produced cultural change and an ethos in which narcissistic motives, drives, and behaviour are both accepted and expected.
these changes produce a cultural background that infiltrates the personality structure of the individual and particularly those who grow up within this culture so that it increasingly becomes the norm - the normal state of affairs which is “the way things should be”. This has led to the dramatic increase that mental health clinicians have charted in recent times in our chosen cultural psychopathology, narcissistic and borderline personality disorders

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….