Paityn Schlosser
Ms. Borders
AP Language and Composition
7 November 2017
It's Not a Phase, It’s a Lifestyle As decades pass, technological advancements became more prevalent in the everyday lifestyle. Students no longer carry around hefty textbooks and notebooks, instead opting to carry high tech devices that assists in recording and observing the transfer of information. Now that Millennials have adapted to the excessive use of technology in their tasks, previous generations are questioning the intellectual integrity of these young minds. Perhaps instead of narrowing down a 30 year span of individuals to one demeaning word, previous generations should adapt to advancements, or prove what makes Millennials, in fact the dumbest generation. …show more content…
By quoting a survey prompted in 2007, Bauerlein claims “The advantages [of Technology advancements] don’t show up in intellectual outcomes” (Source 1). Statistics from “What Americans Know: 1989-2007” show that 56 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds possessed lower knowledge levels, but what defines general knowledge? As no clear evidence is provided by Mr. Bauerlein, it is impossible to determine how Millennials are being judged. In terms of technological smarts. Going against the claim of “the dumbest generation”, Sharon Begley states that “IQ scores in every country that measures them, including the United States, have been rising since the 1930s ... Tests measure not knowledge, but pure thinking capacity- what cognitive scientists call fluid intelligence, in that it can be applied to problems in any domain.” (Source 2), opposing Bauerlein’s claim of Gen Y and Millennials of being the dumbest. With scientific data, the idea of lacking general knowledge disproves Bauerlein’s claims and defies the title of “dumbest …show more content…
No longer needing to flip through dictionaries and magazines to find information, Nicholas Carr, a writer for the Atlantic magazine's, states, “ Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” (Source 4). Previously in his article, Carr questioned if the invention of the search engine, Google, was making the youth think less, no longer needing to think of how to hunt down information, but emphasizes on the easy access of details. The internet allows us to spend less time searching for information and more time absorbing, therefore getting varying sources of specific information. With the more invasive search of information, the Millennials can easily surpass Bauerlein's claim of “the dumbest
Ms. Borders
AP Language and Composition
7 November 2017
It's Not a Phase, It’s a Lifestyle As decades pass, technological advancements became more prevalent in the everyday lifestyle. Students no longer carry around hefty textbooks and notebooks, instead opting to carry high tech devices that assists in recording and observing the transfer of information. Now that Millennials have adapted to the excessive use of technology in their tasks, previous generations are questioning the intellectual integrity of these young minds. Perhaps instead of narrowing down a 30 year span of individuals to one demeaning word, previous generations should adapt to advancements, or prove what makes Millennials, in fact the dumbest generation. …show more content…
By quoting a survey prompted in 2007, Bauerlein claims “The advantages [of Technology advancements] don’t show up in intellectual outcomes” (Source 1). Statistics from “What Americans Know: 1989-2007” show that 56 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds possessed lower knowledge levels, but what defines general knowledge? As no clear evidence is provided by Mr. Bauerlein, it is impossible to determine how Millennials are being judged. In terms of technological smarts. Going against the claim of “the dumbest generation”, Sharon Begley states that “IQ scores in every country that measures them, including the United States, have been rising since the 1930s ... Tests measure not knowledge, but pure thinking capacity- what cognitive scientists call fluid intelligence, in that it can be applied to problems in any domain.” (Source 2), opposing Bauerlein’s claim of Gen Y and Millennials of being the dumbest. With scientific data, the idea of lacking general knowledge disproves Bauerlein’s claims and defies the title of “dumbest …show more content…
No longer needing to flip through dictionaries and magazines to find information, Nicholas Carr, a writer for the Atlantic magazine's, states, “ Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” (Source 4). Previously in his article, Carr questioned if the invention of the search engine, Google, was making the youth think less, no longer needing to think of how to hunt down information, but emphasizes on the easy access of details. The internet allows us to spend less time searching for information and more time absorbing, therefore getting varying sources of specific information. With the more invasive search of information, the Millennials can easily surpass Bauerlein's claim of “the dumbest