Let me say I feel weird that I would even have to take up this kind of charge. I won't be trying to argue about how smart I am nor attack some general idea of stupidity. I'm mostly confused about what I've experienced and am worried about the consequences.
Reddit is amazing to me. It resembles a schizophrenic. That is, I can't ever tell when it's trying to be "real" or is an increasingly queer fantasy world. I'm not looking to nit-pick subreddits. You can be confounded by just what you get on the front page without scrolling.
It seems that if you say something "too smart," in that it takes on a level of detail and references, you're quickly down voted as pretentious or possibly linked to /r/iamverysmart. Mind you, no one bothers to qualify it as correct or not first, but if it comes across as from a kind of perspective that can't be accessed easily, you're immediately written off.
I read a lot of books. Immediately, I understand even saying that has put people off. As if reading has now given me special authority or actions of consequence. I hesitate to go through years of comments and bickering to support that insight. The problem with reading is that my mind goes to a lot of new places. As a result, I frequently write.
It may or may not be a secret that the more you engage in this reading and writing thing, you may start to talk less than colloquially. If you read about governments, your language may be dosed with that of political theorists and culture warriors. If you genuinely spend a lot of time with math or physics, you're not automatically a doosh by uttering the words "quantum mechanics" (I suspect I'm giving this crowd too much room, but the point remains.)
Some days I can find something I agree with that gets thousands of upvotes. A week earlier I may have extrapolated on and gotten in an excellent discussion about that very same thing, and it might get 2 votes. Other times I can carry on like the proverbial angsty teenager about some tiny topic underneath the umbrella of music, and get 18 votes. I know there's timing and "tl;dr" comments abound, but amidst this random chaos, reddit attempts this claim at an identity.
And, to me, it's the way-too pseudo self-awareness and "irony" that pollutes everything reddit touches. It's where "humor" becomes a cop out or formula. It's where "intellectualism" is the purview of /r/askscience or /r/askhistorians. I think this "hive mind" with so many bees not actually thinking the same thing destroys trust in information. It destroys willingness and capacity to sit with complicated things for long periods of time until they can be talked about collectively.
I think it acts in the same way ceaseless advertising does. It becomes normal to respond with sarcastic .gifs or from behind your fake degree in psychology or sociology. The meager rewards of gold or upvotes even less tangible than the stickers you may have received in grade school. I think I would hear an immediate revulsion "we're just dicking around on the internet!" sentiment at this point. Noted, don't care, not what I'm talking about.
I have a pretty non-optimistic view of not only my country, but our collective future, and our general understanding of...nearly anything...at this point. You know when you talk to an insanely smart teacher and they can't help but reference or frame things in ways you probably have to read a few books to appreciate? It sort of seeps out of them this secret world of time spent learning? Now, with nearly everyone I engage with personally or online, I sense no seepage. Most invitations to read something or share an experience are met as though it was an attack. By wanting a conversation or taking the time to unravel new thoughts, I'm often criticized as if I've done something wrong.
It's as if when you can't fit in to the kind of defensive, lazy, take-it-for-granted "this is how we do," you have no place here. It's exceedingly reminiscent of the computers and computing dorm I lived in in college. This spiteful pride in "whatever you'd call this hobby" and by coming here you play by the rules or gtfo.
I think people are lacking identity. I think they're lacking knowledge. I think these aren't just anecdotal reflections of me battling the loudest assholes on the internet. I think the reason their voices sound so loud is because "the rest of us," however that's quantified, are failing by playing their game and not calling it out for what it is. Bullshit childish laziness and prideful ignorance. I don't know if it's simple demographics, [deliberate] lack of leadership, or a deeper reflection of how people view their lives outside of a computer screen, but it worries me.
Why must everything be reduced to a caricature?
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