Dumbest Generation Dbq

Improved Essays
Out of all the generations that are still alive today, from the Greatest Generation to the Baby Boomers to Gen X, this generation of Millennials and Gen Z are, by far, the dumbest generation. Or so many people seem to believe. They argue that the youth have seemingly no knowledge of even the most basic information and with the increasing availability of technology at their fingertips, their ambition and academic intelligence will continue to deteriorate. However, those under the age of 30 have actually proven themselves to be more sagacious, street smart, and socially aware than the previous generations. Calling them the dumbest generation is an obvious misnomer. Their abilities may not be the best in memorizing information, but their capacity …show more content…
They would claim that social media and technological advancements have contributed to the generations’ laziness, low knowledge levels, and intellectual decline. Proponents of the “dumbest generation” would also agree that the “mental equipment of the young falls short of their media, money, e-gadgets, and career plans” (Source 1). In more concrete terms, they believe that this generation’s strongest gifts do not make up for its degenerating mental capacity. However, one must take into consideration that there is nothing to prove that having all this technology will worsen thinking ability. In fact, scientists even claim that since “technology exercises our minds and provides more information” (Source 2), it will enhance intelligence. The well-known science magazine, Discover, even stated that recent studies show the most popular video games challenge “mental dexterity” (Source 6). This implies that the video games the older generations blame for encouraging laziness in younger generations actually sharpens minds, strengthens creativity, and quickens

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    It has been reported that “56 percent” of their generation have “low levels of knowledge” (Source A). Based on that Pew survey report, the generation can be labelled as dumb since the majority is lacking in intelligence. Once again however, the “intellectual” questions asked may have been bias to a specific interpretation of the “intellectual” questions that would not have fit the under-thirty…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are over 3.5 billion Google searches every day and 1.2 trillion worldwide per year (internetlivestats.com). Sources G, B and H all contradict the thought that the under thirty generation is the dumbest. Source B is an article by Sharon Begley which is named The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb. Source G is an article by Clive Thompson which is titled Clive Thompson on the New Literacy.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dumbest Generation Dbq

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Teens today do retain less fact-based knowledge than other generations, but we are not dumber. Millennials memorize less information and communicate differently from every prior generation, but we are the highest educated and have the highest IQs. It’s just that we would rather look for information than…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Brief Overview of the Dumbest Generation The full name of the book is The Dumbest Generation How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future and it is written by the English professor at Emory University, Mark Bauerlein. In this book, Bauerlein informs of the e-literacy of Generation Y and supports his argument and statistical data on a global level. The author then elaborates on the causes of this generation’s dissatisfaction with books.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An English professor, Mark Bauerlein, best selling book The Dumbest Generation suggest that those under the age of thirty are considered the “dumbest” generation in modern history. According to Bauerlein, the twenty-first-century teens have unlimited access to information, however, their thirst for knowledge is just their thirst for fun and status. Although some may disagree that technology has set us back, it has cause lack of certain fundamental skills that had been developed before the age of technology, which is why this generation can be considered one of the dumbest generation. Our world has developed over the years in the field of technology it has brought tons of new knowledge. However, even with this greater knowledge, it has brought setbacks in certain skills.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Mark Bauerlein’s 2008 book The Dumbest Generation he makes the argument that those under the age of thirty are dumb. Since Bauerlein bases the claim off of “the 2007 Pew survey on “What Americans Know: 1989-2007” (Source 1) we can assume that Bauerlein’s definition of smart is what and how much a person knows, based off the title of the survey. That is truly a poor and incomplete definition of what smart is. If this new generation were truly dumb then it wouldn’t make sense that “IQ scores in every country that measures them, including the United States, have been rising since the 1930s’…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Velcro: The Glue That Holds Our World Together In “Generation Velcro”, Dorothy Woodend discusses the issue of society’s lack of knowledge, caused by things like Velcro, video games, and a general “lack of suffering” (Woodend 207) experienced by generations past. She compares the lifestyle of farmers to that of the modern generation, who she criticizes for not having the same work ethic, self-sufficiency, and practical skills. The essay presents a flawed opinion on the abilities and upbringings of today’s youth, based on the author’s disdain for modern technology and her extremely narrow definition of “practical knowledge” (206).…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Dumbest Generation” The debate among generations of who is more intellectual is neverending. Blame for downfalls and shortcomings is passed around and is currently landing on one topic; technology is making the Millennials dumb, the dumbest generation to date. However, this is based on a very narrow scope on intelligence along with unjust comparisons.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The essay, “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?” written by Nicholas Carr, addresses the negative impact that the internet has on us. He uses experiments from highly recognized universities and people to support his view. He emphasizes that the use of technology and multitasking distracts us which leads to lack of focus, “turning us into scatter superficial thinkers.” Carr conveys that while we may think we are good multitaskers, we need to focus to meaningfully understand and retain knowledge. He expresses how negative the loss of mental discipline and strength can affect our lives with the use of a hyperbole.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    McClellan’s article (2005) reports that according to Johnson’s study, computer games are essentially brain exercises that holistically improves psychological fitness. This is because computer games require continuous focus, strategic decision-making, and creative thinking. Another form of display interface is video games which have also been found to improve these aspects. This is important as children often find gaming fun and must, therefore, be utilised productively to aid the development of mental acumen. An example of this would be Assassin’s Creed, a role-playing game about alternate versions of history.…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therefore, Google and the Internet are not necessarily making us “dumber” per say, in reality it is the fact that our education system is one step behind us. The fact that the older generations do not completely understand that generation y’s minds have begun adapting to the technology around us is understandable and will require more research to further validate these…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Video games: Good or Bad? Since the last decade, video games – in the public eye - have been considered as a negative impact to our society. Government officials, news reporters, and parents alike have all pointed the finger at video games and their developers for — in one way or another — poisoning the minds of their children. However, recent studies have shown that video games is actually not a bad influence to our kids, and on the contrary, it could be the tool to develop their skills.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Video Game Stereotypes

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages

    It is well known that working out keeps a person’s body in shape Well, they found out that playing video games is like working out only for the player’s brain. It was discovered that playing fast paced games keep people 's minds active and able to respond quicker to events. They estimated that playing 10 hours of video games has the potential to add seven years to the player’s life span. A test was run to see if playing video games could aid the…

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Several different theories were explored in the journal article “Brains on video games”. Six experts shared their research on the positive and negative ways video games can effect the way people think and behave. Each expert explored several different valid points as to how video games positively effect cognitive functioning. First, Daphne Bavelier…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    However, video game gives more benefits than negative effects. Researchers have gone through years of study to find the benefits of playing video games. We only see a person playing video games as wasting their time when video games enhance our cognitive flexibility — the mental faculty of creative and lateral thinking, in a way we hardly able to notice. Video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user…

    • 2841 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Great Essays