Nothing New
I don't think the lack of reading comprehension and kneejerk skimming reactions are anything new at all. We are just exposed to them in a different way.
If somebody misread an op-ed piece I wrote in a newspaper back in the late 90's, they would have grumbled across the breakfast table to their cat, there's no way they would have taken the time to write a letter to the editor, asking them to forward the comment on to me. Their pervasive laziness would likely have prevented that.
Now I write a blog post and this uncomprehending reader can immediately grumble in my comments section.
I was unaware of the first guy, the second guy lands straight in my inbox.
~shrugs~
Anyone who has gone through school and been forced to work on group projects also knows about reading incomprehension, when one segment of the group insists their method or answer is correct, due to their lack of attending the details in the instructions.
