More (not so) fun facts:
54% of American adults read below a 6th grade level.
21% read below a 5th grade level, which is considered functionally illiterate.
High immigration numbers don’t fully explain it either, as first gen immigrants only make up about 1/3 of those with low literacy.
jargon is always changing. it’s used as a social sorting mechanism more than anything else. it’s used to signify something is new or special or different or ‘more advanced’, when that is rarely true.
which is precisely why it makes you feel inadequate. it’s designed to do that, to make you feel like you aren’t ‘smart’ and exclude you from the in-group who uses the jargon.
it’s also why marketing companies love jargon. it plays all over people’s insecurities and group-belonging.