Are We The Dumbest Generation Analysis

In the article, Our Semi-Literate Youth? Not so Fast written by Andrea A. Lunsford, Lunsford tells about how youth today are perceived to be less intelligent and too dependant upon technology. She goes on to show that she doesn’t agree with that assumption, she states that she has been working with college writes for over thirty years and has conducted studies showing the opposite. Lunsford thinks that with the advances in technology students are actually gaining more of a range of writing technique and greater adaptability to the changing audiences that students encounter. Through the exposure to different social medias and excess to people across the world, students have become more well rounded writers and show no decrease from the writing

Additionally, having social media and the internet, texting, email etc., also creates more chances of writing. Most parents and teachers think that this is causing a downfall in school and literacy capabilities but in reality its actually helping. According to Thompson (Source G), she believes we are in the middle of a literacy revolution. This generation writes more than any other generation before. Most peoples’ writing happens outside the classroom. It

Is Generation Y the dumbest generation yet? In Sharon Begley’s essay “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb” she brings up an author by the name if Mark Bauerlein. Bauerlein has wrote a book describing how he believes Generation Y is the “dumbest generation” and is blaming it on their ignorance with use of the internet. He uses very basic evidence, such as that there has been a decline in adult literacy from 40 percent of high school grads in 1992 to 31 percent in 2003. (Begley 90) Begley brings up a very good point as the definition of “Dumbest”. (91) She proposed two separate definitions, the first being “holding the least knowledge” and the second being “lacking such fundamental cognitive capacities as the ability to think critically and

In chapter one of The Dumbest Generation, Mike Bauerlein makes several statements about our generation and comes to a conclusion that helps set the groundwork for the entire book. His analysis of today’s youth states that the current generation is lacking when it comes to intellectual knowledge. He provides evidence that states that today’s under-thirty population in the United States does not have adequate knowledge, and their lack of knowledge with affect them greatly in their adulthood years.

People claim that new developments have caused kids to be so dependent on their devices, that they can't think for themselves. This claim can also be turned around by saying that technology has given kids more opportunities and chances to learn, and in particular, more opportunities to write (Source 7, Clive Thompson). An example of this is a study done at Stanford University, where it was discovered that Stanford students did a stunning 38 percent of their writing outside of the classroom (Source 7, Clive Thompson). With the developments of E-mail, texting, and social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, younger people are constantly writing in their every day lives. In the past, people would, for the most part, stop writing once the finishes their education. Now however, people are more comfortable, and more used to, writing. And while the argument that technology has decreased level of the vocabulary and vernacular of young people is true in some cases, the increase in writing shown by young people has led to a greater ability to convey information to other people, and a greater comfort in talking to people they don't know (Source 7, Clive Thompson). As Andrea Lunsford says, "I think we're in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek Civilization" (Source 7, Clive

Along with the progression of society, major advances have been made in hundreds of different fields — particularly technology. Controversy has risen, and debates ensued over whether today's young Americans are really “the dumbest generation,” due to their “money, media, e-gadgets, and career plans” [Source A]. While advances have been made, they have brought with them resources to benefit off of, and ultimately assist in the overall intellect and intelligence of the human race.

A few years ago, I decided to learn sign language. It was not a project for a class, a requirement to graduate, or a fact that everyone knew. I just wanted to learn sign language, so I did what many twenty-first century millennials do and downloaded an app. The app showed me diagrams to learn basic phrases, videos to perfect the movements, and lessons to learn more efficiently. The technology of the app made learning sign language easy, and I could use it wherever I went. I thought that I was smart for using technology to learn specific things, but Mark Bauerlein, the author of a 2008 book called The Dumbest Generation, would disagree. According to Bauerlein, twenty-first century teenagers possess “low knowledge levels” when compared to past generations because of the increased use of technology. However, Bauerlein is mistaken. This generation is not “the dumbest generation” because we focus on different topics, we write more often, and we know that every generation has been called “the dumbest”.

Over the course of time technology has changed society’s views on various topics. In The Dumbest generation, Mark Bauerlein makes the argument that the youth generation is less knowledgeable than the older generation. This is not necessarily the case because the youth generation do not feel the need to know facts such as “who wrote the oratorio “Messiah” (which 35 percent of college seniors knew in 2002, compared with 56 percent in 1955) (Source B). As mentioned previously this is not by any means indicating that the youth generation is less knowledgeable, but instead shows that they have other resources to find out this information rather than just knowing it. Also, not knowing facts that were once very important to the older generations does

Which generation really takes the title of the dumbest generation? Is it people under the age of 30? How does age have a part in this statement? And why is there even a dumbest generation?

Jessica Sidon AP English Feb. 13, 2018 The Dumbest Generation? People know a day’s live in a generation where they rely on technology for an everyday basis, and some might even say that they cannot live without it. Technology is very effective and useful, however it can be the reason why this generation is considered “The Dumbest Generation. With there being valuable reasons to why it’s not making us “dumber” their is more valid reasonings to why it actually is.

Mark Bauerlain in his book The Dumbest Generation, makes the claim that the current under 30 generation is the “dumbest” in modern history, citing the fact that they “don’t know anything” (Bauerlain). This claim obviously comes from a place of ‘you youngins don’t know nothin’ syndrome, as the current under thirty generation is just as or possibly more competent (how?) than their predecessors.

Intelligence is not based on what one already knows. Instead, it is based upon our ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills towards a certain topic. In other words, how one will process and use the information that has been given to them. The learning and thinking capacity today’s generation posses is not only greater than those of previous generations but more effective as well. Researcher Mizuko Ito agrees. In her 3-year study she states, “...young people acquire various forms of technical and media literacy by

The Internet is not making the generation of people 30 years old or younger less intelligent, but changing how they think.. The cartoon from The New Yorker depicts a person sitting on their computer right in front of a wall of library books(Source H). This cartoon shows that the internet is not a tool that distracts us and makes us less intelligent, because that person who is using their computer can access

Is no one going to consider the earliest generation of humankind, where Neanderthals communicated through gibberish? Is no one going to consider the period of time where our only knowledge was to fulfill our basic needs of survival? Is no one going to consider that same period of time, where we did not own electronic gadgets of "easily accessible information. " If anyone had that thought in consideration maybe people would not nonchalantly claim Gen Y is the dumbest.

Despite criticism and popular belief towards Generation Y, those under the age of thirty are not “the dumbest generation.” The new technology that has immersed over the past several decades is changing how the brains of Gen Y work, but not negatively. It is rather improving our mental thinking ability. Cognitive scientist Marcel Just stated, “Insofar as new information technology exercises our minds and provides more information, it has to be improving thinking ability.” (169)