My fellow Americans can't fucking read.
Don't attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence.
American adults are illiterate. And so are our kids. Especially the poor kids.
54% of US adults read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.
21% of U.S. adults are unable to complete basic reading tasks.
Most adults now read at a fifth grade level or below.
Fifth grade is for 10-year-olds.
Adults can't read at a level considered proficient for 10-year-olds.
Newspapers are typically written at 6th-8th grade reading level.
Americans aren't literate enough to read news articles.
At least half of American adults think they are reading the news but don't actually understand what they are seeing. If they're trying to read it at all, past the headlines and meme captions.
Children of adults with low literacy skills are 72% more likely to be at a low reading level in school, according to ProLiteracy.
40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level.
64% of our country's fourth graders do not read proficiently.
The low-income students are significantly more likely to be unable to read proficiently.
81% of fourth graders who qualify for free/reduced lunch can't read
49% of fourth graders who don't qualify still can't read either
It starts in childhood and persists into college, where professors increasingly complain that students can't handle simple reading assignments -- and especially long-form content, like novels.
This makes writing & texting one of the least effective methods of communication in 2026 because people literally do not understand the words that are coming outta our fingers.
And this is just basic understanding of the written word -- the language that we all speak everyday. We haven't even touched on math, science, or history yet.
When Americans read history and science books, they don't even understand the words that they are reading. You have to explain it to them verbally, preferably with visuals.
That's why Video is King now.