We live in a word that is changing by the second, and it has been that way for the past twenty years. Technology has ultimately integrated itself into today's society, because of its necessity in the majority of American lives. Mark Bauerlein, the author of “The Dumbest Generation”, believes because of these advancements in technology, young Americans have lost the basic “intellectual habits” of the previous generation. However, social life is not the same as it was in the previous generation, effectively changing the way young Americans learn in today's era. The world is rapidly changing, and society’s expectations are following suit. Today’s younger generation is by no means dumber than the previous generation because of the use of technology.
…show more content…
Young Americans have adapted to new forms of social media, with this comes predefined goals, in contrast to classroom learning. Mizuko Ito, a Japanese cultural anthropologist, found in her studies of young people that this generation tends to “geek out” and “dive into a topic or talent”, and that this phenomenon is socially acceptable (Source 3). With all these opportunities to learn something new, how could this generation of Americans be considered the “dumbest”. Being able to Google a new topic encourages self-learning, and allows young Americans to learn whatever their heart desires. Something that was not possible in the previous generation. How could having access to more information cause someone to become less knowledgeable? A term more acceptable to describe this generation of Americans would be “lazy”, as young Americans are often more prone to Google information repeatedly, than to remember it for future involvements (Source 3). But going as far as saying that younger Americans are “dumber” because of this laziness, is just simply not …show more content…
Bauerlein cites a 2007 Pew survey on, “What Americans Know: 1989-2009,” in his book. It was stated that 56 percent of 18-to-29 year olds possed low knowledge levels, while only 22 percent of 50-to-64 year olds did (Source 1). Although this may seem like logical information, it is far from it. To start off, the 50-to-64 year olds have a tremendous amount of life expensive, thus making them more knowledge. In order for this to be a fair comparison, the test would have to be done on the same age groups. Bauerlein again blames rapid advances in technology, but does not note the differences in life experience. In the article, “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb”, it was stated that IQ scores in all countries have been rising since 1930s (Source 2). This not only disproves Bauerlein theory that advances in technology has diminished the intelligence of younger Americans, but also shows that the results in the survey may have been skewed towards 18 year olds. Advancements in technology is encourages one's intellectual curiosity, because of the information that is readily available in today's
Young Americans have adapted to new forms of social media, with this comes predefined goals, in contrast to classroom learning. Mizuko Ito, a Japanese cultural anthropologist, found in her studies of young people that this generation tends to “geek out” and “dive into a topic or talent”, and that this phenomenon is socially acceptable (Source 3). With all these opportunities to learn something new, how could this generation of Americans be considered the “dumbest”. Being able to Google a new topic encourages self-learning, and allows young Americans to learn whatever their heart desires. Something that was not possible in the previous generation. How could having access to more information cause someone to become less knowledgeable? A term more acceptable to describe this generation of Americans would be “lazy”, as young Americans are often more prone to Google information repeatedly, than to remember it for future involvements (Source 3). But going as far as saying that younger Americans are “dumber” because of this laziness, is just simply not …show more content…
Bauerlein cites a 2007 Pew survey on, “What Americans Know: 1989-2009,” in his book. It was stated that 56 percent of 18-to-29 year olds possed low knowledge levels, while only 22 percent of 50-to-64 year olds did (Source 1). Although this may seem like logical information, it is far from it. To start off, the 50-to-64 year olds have a tremendous amount of life expensive, thus making them more knowledge. In order for this to be a fair comparison, the test would have to be done on the same age groups. Bauerlein again blames rapid advances in technology, but does not note the differences in life experience. In the article, “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb”, it was stated that IQ scores in all countries have been rising since 1930s (Source 2). This not only disproves Bauerlein theory that advances in technology has diminished the intelligence of younger Americans, but also shows that the results in the survey may have been skewed towards 18 year olds. Advancements in technology is encourages one's intellectual curiosity, because of the information that is readily available in today's