Sure, but that feels like an equivalence of just saying "people without a college degree are less mentally developed than those who do." Memorizing the street system of a city the size of London is obviously hard. But is it important to actually do so in a world where it's not essential?
I feel like the implication of a lot of these articles is "people aren't learning X thing that's not essential now, and instead are learning TikTok Memes." Which may not be wrong, but how much of a problem actually is that? Obviously, a century ago, there was no slack for almost anyone to not carry their weight in society. Everyone needed to know how to farm and start a fire, and plenty of other things most people don't know any more. Pre-teens had to work important jobs because otherwise people didn't eat. Obviously things have swung away from that, but the question is how far away from that is a good thing vs. just allowing people to indulge in vices.
I feel like the implication of a lot of these articles is "people aren't learning X thing that's not essential now, and instead are learning TikTok Memes." Which may not be wrong, but how much of a problem actually is that? Obviously, a century ago, there was no slack for almost anyone to not carry their weight in society. Everyone needed to know how to farm and start a fire, and plenty of other things most people don't know any more. Pre-teens had to work important jobs because otherwise people didn't eat. Obviously things have swung away from that, but the question is how far away from that is a good thing vs. just allowing people to indulge in vices.