Theres several possible explanations, covid being only one. 1. Western countries have had an ongoing literacy crisis since before covid. Western adults do not score very high on literacy tests. 2. Reliance on "ai" makes you stupid, quickly. Turns out delegating thinking causes you to lose those simple cognitive abilities. And they're hard to get back, and certainly not as quick as losing them. 3. Short form content on "endless scrolling apps" also makes you stupid, like ai. 4. Higher C02 in the atmosphere is said to cause lower cognitive abilities and agitation/agression. 5. Covid brain damage.

In summary, capitalism is killing us in the name of profit.