This quiz, conducted by Pew Reasearch Center on how much we know about the current topics you'd be likely to find in the news, makes us question where our priorities are in society. After completing this short quiz there is a break down of each question, its answer, and the percent of Americans who completed this question correctly. The highest percent of people (15%) scored a 4 on this quiz, while 67% of those who completed this answered 6 questions or less correctly. I find this quiz to be extremely revealing of the current zeitgeist. We are so caught up on daily life and the trivial problems we have, we fail to see the big picture of our world. Are we too busy watching "Jersey Shore" that we never turn on the news? By completing this quiz you can see how you fall out in society, are you truly an informed citizen or do you fall within the majority of people, unaware which party has a majority in Congress? What is to be said of the future of this nation if the people voting for our leaders don't know the current matters in our society?
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ReplyDeleteI just read this blog post and I also took the quiz. I was rudely surprised when I found myself guessing on most of the questions. I ended up getting 6 right, along with 9% of the other people who took the quiz. I think this quiz really shows just how ignorant technology like the internet has made us. People (myself included) aren't bothering to learn information about important subjects like our government and our economy because they know that it can be found quickly and easily online. Another quiz I've taken asks people questions about our government and questions about popular culture. Unsurprisingly, the pop culture questions are answered correctly more frequently, proving that people are choosing to occupy their time by learning about superficial, trivial matters rather than about the world that they live in.
Of course after reading your post I had to take the quiz! I think that in itself says something about our society. After seeing that link on the top of your post, I could not resist clicking on it. I knew exactly what would appear, and I understood the point of your post, but I still had to click that link.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I found it very interesting that each question covered a current event, except the last one directly asked about a technological device. That question I had no problem answering. I wonder if other quiz takers found that question the easiest as well, since people are more likely to know about the latest technological trend rather than their own government.
So I took the quiz a couple of days ago when your blog first got published and I don't remember what I got but I know that I did better than a large percent of the population with just getting a few questions right and I also remember being completely alarmed...this blog ties in the negative effects of technology by showing how much it makes us blatantly ignorant of the world around us.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, in Rachel (the Believer)'s blog, I did not know a few of the most important things that happened this year yet I google at least once a day and I am ALWAYS on the internet. This quiz just reminds me of how we are the generation of technology yet we are the generation of ignorance--we don't watch the news, we watch DVR; we don't read up on current events, we write on friends' walls; etc.; etc.
As someone who really doesn't find politics intriguing, I knew that there were gaps in the knowledge that I should have about current events. However, it took the poll to alert me on just how large those gaps are. I ended up getting questions right through guessing. It was quite alarming how little I knew, but I think even worse was that there were many voting-age adults who scored at the same number right or lower than me.
ReplyDeleteToday, many people would much rather be watching "reality" TV shows or using Facebook than reading up on the election results. As Kimmy has said, people are more likely to be knowledgeable about the latest gadget rather than their own government. This could probably be partly explained by the aggression of advertisers. Always wanting to make more profits, we see an enormous amount of advertisers' work each day. Information about the latest iPhone seems to be much more accessible than assessments of the nation's current financial state. Though America is proud to call itself a democracy, how much of a democracy can it be when people would rather spend time writing on each other's walls instead of knowing the current happenings in their government?
This point is really akin to the book "Feed" by M.T. Anderson, which Nicole Schoenbrun did her post about. In the book, people are too preoccupied with fashion and TV to realize that their skin falling off isn't the lateest trend, and don't even realize that there are disaters happening all around them--they just don't care. In fact, their government isn't even mentoined, and from that I'm assuming that they don't even know what their government is. In my opinion, this seems like an extreme version of the future, but nevertheless close to your post.
ReplyDeleteCombining the book and the test you posted, the question is raised: What will our society turn into if more people are encouraged to vote, even though they have no idea what they're really voting on?
Also, I think Bettina's question is one that should be explored. Can our country still be considered democratic when people are voting with no knowledge of political matters, rather with the knowledge what's on their wall? Is our system still considered deomocratic, even though people are being controlled by technology?
As I was taking the quiz all I could think was this is hard. I got 7 out of 12 correct and I am shocked. I predicted to get about 4 correct not 7; this quiz made me very aware of how little I know. As I was reading this post I thought yes I watch the news I must not be a part of the 67% that cannot answer these questions, yet I clearly am. I have instilled a false sense of intelligence for myself and I believe that it is a common occurrence in our society. We believe that we are smart yet facts and surveys’ prove that when it comes to important matters were are naive and do not seem to care.
ReplyDeleteI pay attention to a fair amount of current events and watch the news every night and scored 10 on the quiz, which I'm not shocked with. Some of the questions were fairly basic knowledge, but others, such as the one about the inflation rate or the one about government expenditure, required more in-depth knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI would not blame technology for this, however. Misinformation and political spin, plus weak reporting by major news outlets, are much more to blame for political ignorance. Technology is actually an accessory to finding out the truth in this case. PolitiFact.com is a great site for dissecting misinformation from both sides of the political aisle. Technology is not the problem, but neither is it a complete solution to the problem. The only solution is a motivated, competent electorate, and by the time we get that, we'll all be speaking Mandarin.
I got 8 out of 12 of the questions correct, along with 9% of the public. I did better that 77% of the people who took this quiz. Quite honestly, I didn't think I would do this well, considering I don't keep up with current events as regularly as I probably should. But what surprised me even more is that I did better than 77% of the people who took it. Considering I'm a 16-year-old, and the people taking the quiz are actually supposed to be 18 or older, it was a bit appalling to see how many people didn't do as well as me. Considering I won't have a say in the government for a little more than a year (my birthday is in Feb.) and these are the people voting and representing the country, I'm a little concerned that so many people don't know very much about what's going on in the world today.
ReplyDelete