Critical Thinking Blog #4

Jacoby's book points out some very significant aspects of American culture that contribute to the anti-intellectual crisis. In the book she criticizes American tendency to think "junk thought". She describes 2 of the most prominent forms of mass media that contribute to junk thought as television and the internet. Americans get easily distracted by the media from other intellectual pursuits like reading and conversation. I have personally witnessed families who don't sit together and eat dinner, instead they sit around the living room and watch tv while they eat. Dinner time is an important time for families to converse and bond. The television takes away from that time. I have also noticed that the internet is a very popular form of communication between teenagers. When typing, it is easy to take the short way out and use improper english and grammar. Unfortunately this can greatly contribute to anti-intellectualism. We lose devotion to proper english and grammar. These forms of media significantly influence anti-intellectualism and take away from intellectual pursuits.