What’s Fervent or What’s Feasible

The number of bachelor degrees in social sciences (such as psychology, sociology, political

sciences, etc.) has reduced significantly in the last 40 years, according to the American Society of Arts & Sciences, while the pursuit of stem and business degrees have gone up. The misconception that these are ‘easy’ fields that don’t require much effort has done significant damage, but there is merit to the claim that securing a job in these fields is more difficult than ever. With the cost of living and tuition being higher than ever, young people are afraid they won’t get a return on their investment unless they pursue a more ‘technical degree’, but that isn’t the only thing damaging the reputation of humanities. Amongst all the different narratives surrounding this topic, it seems like it’s the crossroad for the saying ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’. A lot of young people struggle with the dilemma of doing what they love at the cost of job security. In recent years, they seem to be choosing the latter.

Creativity, critical thinking, and empathy are all traits that have seemingly stagnated with

increased internet use and shallow online political culture. Topics like sociology, psychology, and political science are chopped up and served in a very binary and simple manner on social media, urging users to fully form their opinions after watching a fifteen-second video or reel. Humanities encourages us to stop and analyze, and form our own opinions that often may not align with what's trending. Moderate political beliefs are demonized online and very black and white thinking is encouraged, as well as a lot of undeserved vitriol when it comes to simple misunderstandings. When these topics are presented in such a way, it’s no wonder no one feels the need to do research or see these fields as worthy of respect. Why listen to someone with a psychology degree when I can read an article titled ‘How to spot a narcissist’? Why study political science when this two-minute TikTok gives me a summary of this candidate’s policies?

This isn’t to say that in order to form an opinion on a topic, one must have a degree or study it, but it’s important to acknowledge and respect the amount of depth and complexity that's being glossed over in these mediums. That way, we can create a culture

that emphasizes the hard work and dedication required to achieve a degree in these fields, prompting more students to pursue them if it's their true passion.