How is technology affecting the younger generations' perceptions of morality and the world?

The author of the book The Dumbest Generation is concerned over young Americans and what the digital age is doing to them. Throughout the book he cites many percentages of young Americans who are dropping out of high school and college and he blames the digital era for it. The author loves the idea of traditional values and routine and he believes that due to the amount of technology that is rising, it is killing off those core values that students need in order to grow and stay productive. He also claims that younger adults abuse their time, and their priorities compared to the older generation have changed significantly. The reasons that he gives because of these changes are due to the digital media and the advances of technology that have gone up quickly within a few years. This results in adolescent teenagers who are abusing their time over the web. Instead of trying to study and learn they are on Facebook and other social networks.

The general thesis of this book is “How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future,” which happens to be the subtitle of this book. In the first chapter, Knowledge Deficits, the author talks about how the teens in the 20th century have the same or even lower education level as teens 30 years ago. Bauerlein goes on and talks about how the government is spending more for education compared to 30 years ago. In the second chapter, The New Bibliophobes, the author argues that teens are reading less books and their literary skills are not improving as fast because they are more interested in digital and pop culture. In the third chapter, Screen Time, lots of studies and surveys prove that teens are spending more time playing video games and socializing with each other online than studying. In chapter four, Online Learning And Non-Learning, the author talks about how teens are abusing the technology and pretending to use it for educational purposes, but in reality, the are using it for entertainment. In chapter five, The Betrayal Of The Mentors, the author explains if all teen follow this pathway they will utterly destroy their future by not making suitable for having a degree, job and poetically family.

Older generations don’t realize how much technology has affected this generation of teenagers, along with the social media that comes along with the technology. As stated in “How Social Media Changed Teens’ Lives Forever”; “Negative posts or comments also can do great damage to a teen’s self-esteem.” (Ashley Black, Thomas Atseff and Colleen Kaveney) While many parents think social media is just a way to connect with others, many teenagers take it for granted. For example, “quitting social media because it made her miserable and obsessed with appearing perfect online”, is what a teenager felt about social media and what it has done to her. Though many think that social media is a great way to connect, teenagers take it to another level.

First of all, teens are not aware of all the information that is being targeted towards on the internet so they are easily manipulated by it. In source C, Mizuko Ito states “In both friendship-driven and interest-driven online activity, youth create and navigate new forms of expression and rules for social behaviour. In the process, young people acquire various forms of technical and media literacy by exploring new interests, tinkering, and ‘messing around’ with new forms of media.” (Ito, Source C). Mizuko emphasizes that the youth are constantly bombarded by the media on the internet. This can result in constant manipulation and impact their ability to make unbiased decisions. At last, media is taking away the formal classroom setting where students were disciplined. Mizuko states “New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is less apparent in a classroom setting.” (Source D). Students today have gained too much freedom which is resulting in lack of discipline. Also, schools are allowing students to browse the web as they please which leads them into believing they have the right to do anything on the internet. In conclusion, students are constantly manipulated by the media and they are given too much freedom which results in their lack of discipline in the classroom and it is making them

The use of technology has catalyzed society into an era that is increasingly interconnected yet impersonal at the same time. Despite technology’s endless list of assets, many fail to acknowledge its shortcomings when mentioning what is lost as a result of using it. Although in “Great to Watch” by Maggie Nelson, she is not afraid to share her skepticism of technology, as well as the role it plays in desensitizing individuals on a day-to-day basis. The internet is an invaluable resource to many because it is a public domain for sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge that any and everyone can have access to. In a sense, it does not restrict what someone may see or do, and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. The booming use of new media

Social media has been known to help students develop important knowledge and social skills. “At first glance this may seem like a waste of time; however it also helps students to develop important knowledge and social skills, and be active citizens who create and share content.” (Chen 3). The more time teens spend on social media the more they become aware of their own social side and how to interact with others, especially their peers. “Some types of social media has beneficial effects, like helping adolescents establish some sense of identity and build networking skills” (Riley Davis). Too much time being spent on social media can also exploit teens to some harsh realities that they’ve probably never experienced in their lives before.

With such a large percentage of teenagers involved with using the internet and social media platforms, they truly do have the world at their fingertips. It is true that this generation does not depend on fetching water, nor do the majority have to walk miles to school or other daily, laborious tasks. The advancement of technology has made modern American life extremely convenient. However, while our technology is improving, other things such as education and image, haunt this developing age group in a way previous generations never

The internet is a powerful tool for activists, but can also be utilized by the other side by promoting propaganda and mobilizing their own supporters. Networking sites have revolutionized the way people activists approach revolutions. Moreover, the internet has connected people from across the world and has caused people in the states (like myself) to become invested in a civil war occurring in a part of the world I never knew existed. The internet has empowered and enabled people by connecting like-minded people, providing access to information, broadcasting events, and creating real connections between people. Alone, the internet is not enough to bring down an oppressive, authoritarian state; but when coupled with the power and will of the people, it can create real

Turkle discusses the online personalities adolescents form to gain more confidence in who they are. These personalities’ form a constant need to stay connected and these teens have developed the willingness to put themselves in danger to do so. The new generation of adolescents feel a pull to be at a beckons call to every notification delivered to their cellular device. She argues these teens have been raised in a different manner compared to those of whom were teenagers twenty years ago. All of these factors lead into a war between technology and society of which hinders our young people’s development. Adolescents are bound to the constant desire to have a connection to technology and the luxuries the technology

As a teenager, I completely agree with the argument that Goldwasser is presenting. I myself have heard adults say “You would learn more if you put your phone down”, or “If you spend as much time browsing the internet as you did a book, you would be a genius”, but this article is the first time I have ever heard an adult agree with the way that technology is shaping our generation. Adults tend to think that websites such as Twitter or Instagram are useless and time consuming, but what they don’t realize is that it provides teenagers with a way to express themselves by posting a status or a tweet.

In today's world a common phrase is “just google it”. Teachers use online resources to post assignments for student and connect with them, parents use cell phone apps to track their kids, and almost any question you have can be answered on an online forum or website. When students get home from school and parents get home from work all it takes is a click of a button or quick “Hey Alexa” to turn on the t.v. and be absorbed into the thousands of channels on demand. Many teenagers in today's society are more interested in their phones or computers than anything else, but can they be blamed when social media apps like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are the only way to learn about the newest trends and hottest artists. However, what if there was no t.v to come home to or video game console to play on all day? What if all those years ago Benjamin Franklin never flew his kite in the storm?

“American children between eight and twelve say they spend an average of six hours a day using digital media, and those between thirteen and eighteen say they spend nine hours a day,” Goldsborough mentions (62). It is apparent that children and teenagers spend an abundant amount of their time on digital media. However, due to the fact that adolescents are spending an excessive amount of time on social media, more and more people are beginning to change their identity. The internet user may get so caught up in the virtual world, that they begin to lose sight of who they are in the real world. Thus causing a myriad of problems. Cyr acknowledges this fact by claiming that technology is causing people to change their identity. Another issue social

Various individuals long for a time when technology did not take over the world. For teenagers, it is difficult to imagine a life without the World Wide Web and its countless perks at their fingertips. Social media consumes young lives more than any other form of technological advancement. Social media has a few pros, but also its fair share of cons.

Narrative: As a teenager you seem to have all your priorities mixed up. Instead of trying hard for school, we decide that it's okay to not study and flake on our homework, but we should always make social media imperative. It's a sad thing, really. Seeing kids almost like living zombies, chained to the world that they can only view through a tiny screen.

As a teenager associated with the “technological revolution”, it has only been fate to be consumed by the constant social media that surrounds our society. With a phone always in hand, and a new app ready to be downloaded, the people of the current generation are being mind-blocked by the tweets and posts of their numerous friends. As I walk down the hallway of my high school, I see the tops of my classmates heads. Resembling a kangaroo, they are hunched over, arms bent with an iPhone glued to their faces, eager to catch up on whatever tweets they haven’t seen. Eager to see what “selfie” their favorite celebrity has posted on Instagram. The constant mentality of, “ Oh that would be a good tweet”, or “ Lets post theses pictures on