A post on Reddit’s r/collapse titled “going to college in 2025 just feels like pretending” got a big response from thousands of users, who flooded the thread with agreement, frustration, and concern.
The post, written by a 19-year-old sociology student, paints a bleak picture of higher education in the age of artificial intelligence.
“I chose [sociology] because I genuinely care about people… I wanted to understand things better. I wanted to learn,” the student wrote.
“But lately it just feels like I’m the only one actually trying to do the work.”
They talk about how most students in their classes use AI tools like ChatGPT for almost everything.
People skip the readings. Essays and reflections are typed up by AI and handed in. The student says professors don’t really do anything about it.
“They’re getting decent grades. Professors don’t really say anything. No one wants to fail half the class, I guess.”
The post really spoke to a lot of people. Many students, teachers, and grads from different age groups replied, saying they felt the same way and had been through similar things.
‘Everyone Is Just Coasting’
One person, who just finished their first year of college, shared how classmates routinely use AI, even after being caught.
“They always went right back to using it,” they wrote.
A younger sibling, they added, was already asking why anyone would take notes when AI can summarize videos.
Others echoed that the decline in student engagement predates AI but has sharply accelerated.
“There was already a huge disconnect from learning,” wrote a 2012 graduate. “It made me wish I went [to college] ten years before then.”
“You turn up, are polite, produce bland corporate intellectual product, and get a stamp that says you can produce bland corporate intellectual product,” said another user.
Multiple educators said the issue isn’t just AI use but the disappearance of effort and curiosity.
“Most people probably wouldn’t go to college if the degree weren’t a requirement for a job,” one person wrote.
A teacher at a community college said, “I catch people using AI all the time… If you don’t understand the input, it’s very unlikely that you will understand the output.”
Collapse by Complacency?
Many users worried that this cultural shift is part of a larger societal decline.
One user said, “Screens do the thinking, systems do the choosing, and we all just… scroll.”
The original poster reflected similarly:
“Maybe that’s what collapse looks like. Not riots or fire, but everyone slowly forgetting how to think.”
Commenters drew parallels to historical examples like the late Soviet Union, where outward performance mattered more than substance.
Others cited the movie “Idiocracy” as less a satire and more a prophecy.
What Now?
Among the gloom, a few voices offered hope and advice. Some encouraged the student to continue learning for its own sake, noting that people who rely too much on AI now will likely struggle in the real world.
“If you do the work, you grow,” one user wrote.
“No one can give you an education; you have to get it for yourself.”
Others suggested focusing on majors with in-person labs, oral exams, or technical rigor, where AI shortcuts can’t easily replace actual understanding.
“School should be where students learn by reading, thinking, and discussing,” a high school teacher said.
“AI is being touted as a miracle drug. I don’t see it.”
Even though the thread sounds negative, it shows that many young people are starting to think seriously about what education really means when answers are easy to find, but true understanding is harder to come by.
“I came here to understand people,” the original poster wrote, “and now I’m surrounded by screens that do the thinking for them.”
In the end, one person said something very interesting: “Imagine how valuable the real thing will be in a future where most people just fake it.”
In other words, actually learning and thinking for yourself might become rare, and that makes it even more important.
When most people take shortcuts, those who really understand things could stand out more.
For students like the original poster, who are still putting in the work, that could mean a long-term advantage, even if it doesn’t feel like it now.