I don't honestly remember the first time I came across the idea of "dumbing down" but it seems like it coincided with the proliferation of "multiple guess" testing in schools, circa 1980's.

Whomever "they" may or may not be, the groundwork for people turning their back on critical thinking started at least 40 years ago. The playing field was somehow "softened" for what was to follow, and people started abdicating such ideas as deductive reasoning to other people. 144-character tweets replaced in-depth reporting. The newsmedia went from publishing to a 10th grade level to a 5th grade level. Walter Crokite reading the evening TV news was replaced by news as "infotainment" in 15-second soundbites.

Meanwhile... the proliferation of information in the data stream makes it increasingly difficult for the thinking person to find enough time to stay on top of fact vs. fiction... it's simply overwhelming.

Makes sense of it gets hard, sometimes. Particularly the issue of how much is simply driven by the corporate "profit/greed" motive which simply doesn't care what it takes to profit and will cause extensive damage just to maintain its growth rate... and the underlying idea that something more nefarious that merely profit-at-any-cost is in the driver's seat.

=^..=