Mark Bauerlein's The Dumbest Generation

Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation, argues in his controversial novel that America's rapidly developing technology and our growing dependence on it is destroying the minds of our youth. He alleges that today’s youth are losing the ability to think, as we slowly rely more and more on the comforts of computerized algorithms to think for ourselves. Despite my own biased view of Bauerleins viewpoints from the perspective as a literate and well-worded 16 year old living in an arguably virtual world, Bauerlein has some merit, but his perception of what intellect is, and isn’t is veiled, and his own biased maturity is questionable.
It is an obvious allegation that technology has a great deal of influence on the lives of students. Technology is vital to man: this was true in years past, and it is true today. This simply banal truth does not strike to answer the question of merit and …show more content…
It is foolhardy, that one can imply that technology is destructive, without recognizing the dubious irregularities of such a statement. Sure, it’s easy to allege that technology is destructive to the minds of youth, with spell check and an online thesaurus who needs to have eloquence, but who is programming the super computers? Certainly not grandpa. As mentioned by Document One: “Living and Learning with New Media,” “geeking out” may not be as dangerous as it appears. Virtual activity, it seems, allows students to hone in on developing technological and other specialized skills in an entertaining and engaging atmosphere. The ability of video games to induce healthy mobility and competition is an important example of the benefits of an expanding virtual experience. Also, unlike the boredom and constricting state mandated curriculum imposed on students by teachers