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I believe that not only are the genes getting messier and messier but i also believe it is because of Television and junk food i mean don't get me wrong i watch plenty of TV and eat plenty of junk food but i also study,get good grades and excercise, excercise is a word most american children don't recognize as a word anymore, and as for the gene idea i believe that it is because of job requirements being so easy to reach, "did you pass at least two years of highschool?", "yes", "aw heck then your in". these low requirements is whats putting smart people on the streets. That and the lack of education even most business owners have. So i believe that in 30 years people won't be able to (or need to) read at all.

I'll add a new answer: "Most Of The Above"

The advent and development of the internet have played a large part. I recall IRC chat sessions in which the worst you'd have to see was "a/s/l", "IRL", and others. Just the basics back then. Now we seem to have acronyms for just about everything.

Some people simply type that way to be part of the "in" crowd, I suppose. At least, they swear that's the only reason.

The education system is going down the tubes in part because of over-emphasis on extracurricular activities. I'm not anti-sports by any means. Everyone should be more physically active, especially school-age kids. The drive to even out the grading curve and bring every class down a few notches to help support those students who can't or won't try to keep up is a big mistake. Giving rewards for mediocre performance, or simply showing up, is also a mistake. Students aren't being encouraged to excel like they used to.

Laziness. Laziness on the part of the individual students, on the education system, and on the parents. A lack of discipline. Unfortunately, we've been preaching that it's okay to be irresponsible, that you don't have to be responsible for your own actions, for what's happened to you.

I'd like to send an anonymous e-mail to FOX, and advise them to send their ticker-writer back to school. I understand if he has to type quickly, but he's been getting worse. It's driving my mom crazy.

Spellcheckers, proofreaders and editors aside, there have been more mistakes in printed media recently than I care to think about. Check your local newspaper. Read a paperback published in the last three to five years. It's disturbing.

I'm not a population expert, and I won't try to discuss our immigration policies (or lack thereof). I will point out, however, that the lower levels of our population have been breeding unchecked, while the more intelligent people tend to wait longer before having children. In most species, the creatures that reproduce in mass numbers are considered prey...

I would have to agree it seems to be peer pressure. I don't really believe it has to do anything with genetics. I can spell pretty well, but due to the ease and quickness of "txt tlk" such as "wat up" or "nm" I have used it. I use to always use "txt tlk" then I too relized I was being stupid.

I believe it's a combination of many things. First off being laziness.
Children are lazy and think there are better ways to spend their time than reading. Children aren't taught to read for fun but rather for work. Too few aren't exposed to the fun of reading. Modern media makes books on tape and movies in place of reading. Many peers of mine think watching a movie of a book is just as fun if not more fun than reading the book itself. I can name about many books I've read that were later made into movies which I've enjoyed watching more than I ever would have if I hadn't read the book. With as bad as today's youth is I'll hate to see the America my children will grow up in.

I think, based on the topics of literacy and culture, Japan has us beat. They have a very deep, non-commercial culture and have 99.9% literacy rate. The 2 people in Japan who can't read and write and being trained as we speak. Go japan.

It is tryuly sad for what has happened to our beautiful literacy. I guess we all must pray that our future will still remain pro-literacy.

This horrible illiteracy and lack of proper grammar irritates me. I am in the 10th grade. I was in Higher Level Literature classes, but then this year I moved out of them because I was doing way too much work for no reason. Well now I'm in Standard Level 11th grade Literture, and I cannot believe how the people in there cannot understand what they are reading! It's simple fun stories. For instance, we're in the middle of Huck Finn. It's not a bad book, in fact I would enjoy it if I took out time from my other work to read it stare but I mean, They have 1 more year of school left before they move on to college! I know the book doesn't have perfect grammar, but it was written that way for a reason. It's not horrible grammar either. I see worse on the actual classwork. Which in turn, drives me nuts. I guess there could be alot to blame for 17 and 18 year olds not being able to speak proper english, but we have school systems, we get the basics, we can figure it out by simply picking up a book! I guess my answer isn't on the poll. I say it's personal responsibility. How dumb do you have to be to be allowed to off the blame from yourself?

While I am certainly appaled at how America talks, we must remember that only a short while ago, literacy was entirely reserved for those of noble lineage and vast wealth. We are actually at one of the pinacles of literacy... Of course, that dosn't mean we should fall farther... stare

I think that it will eventually correct itself, but we should try to encourage proper spelling anyway. I also think that it is majorly a lack of making literacy a priority that has let us drop so far.