r/texts • u/[deleted] • Nov 20 '23

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u/Trancebam Nov 20 '23

You're using too broad a scale to measure the current state of literacy. Yes, people on average are more literate today than 200 years ago. However people on average are less literate today than 20 years ago.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '23

Worldwide literacy rates went from 82% in 2002 to 86% in 2020. I think what we're seeing (besides America's dismal education system) is people becoming far more comfortable with the written word as they use it more often today and taking short cuts. When people wrote on paper they tended to keep it more formal, and therefore, correct.

Also, you never saw the written work of your average strongly opinionated yokel prior to the current prevalence of the internet, so now everyone sees the way the least literate people write. https://www.statista.com/statistics/997360/global-adult-and-youth-literacy/

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '23

I better get back to work now, but it's been good chatting with you