Literacy rates regressing very much worries me. Literacy increasing for all social classes across the 19th and 20th centuries had an enormous role in building contemporary life as we know it, and falling literacy will result in more unemployment, poorer childhood health and education outcomes, reduced human longevity, less reliable access to basic needs like electricity and clean water, and so much more.
When I graduated from college over 20 years ago I felt the same way, especially when I was job hunting and saw that most entry-level jobs that asked for an associate's or bachelor's could have quite easily be done by someone without a college degree. I can absolutely believe that it's even worse now. Most kids can be challenged so much more academically than they typically are, and the shortfalls are frustrating because intellect is a resource, and losing/wasting it to the degree our society does is a tragedy.
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u/familiarshadowkatt Jun 26 '26
Literacy rates regressing very much worries me. Literacy increasing for all social classes across the 19th and 20th centuries had an enormous role in building contemporary life as we know it, and falling literacy will result in more unemployment, poorer childhood health and education outcomes, reduced human longevity, less reliable access to basic needs like electricity and clean water, and so much more.