The Dumbest Generation Essay

Mark Bauerlein seems to believe that is the dumbest generation because research has shown that knowledge skills and intellectual habits have gone down, and although some people agree with him, others don’t. I believe this generation isn’t the dumbest because there are other things that need to be considered when calling someone, a group of people, or even an entire generation stupid or dumb, rather than just knowledge skills and intellectual habits.

In this new age of technology, information is becoming more readily available to practically everyone. This revolution has raised one major concern for the students of our generation: that we will not be able to think at all. That this generation will rely so heavily on the ability to access information immediately that we subsequently lose the ability to think for ourselves. This will not happen, however. Although many believe the internet is spoiling our generation, the fact of the matter is that the internet actually enriches our education and aids us in coming up with more educated solutions.

“We are gradually changing from a nation of calloused hands to a nation of agile brains.” – Marcel Just. (Begley 92) This quote really speaks to me. I find it to be very true as we are focusing more on developing new technology to do the work we might be doing with our hands. It is similar to the common expression “Work Smarter not Harder”. I think that this is what the internet is letting us do. However many authors and writers do not think this is the case. They believe that the internet is making us less intelligent as it is rewiring our brain to think in order of internet articles rather than books. I on the contrary believe the internet is giving us an easy opportunity to learn which is therefore making us more intelligent.

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.

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

Dumbest Generation Synthesis Essay People of the Millennial Era would consider their generation to be the smartest . With all the technological advances and the upgrades on the way society functions it would seem clear that they are the most intelligent . According to social critic , author , and professor Mark Bauerlein , those under the age of 30 make up the “dumbest” generation in modern history .After his publication of his book, “ The Dumbest Generation,’’ it was brought to America’s attention that anyone after Generation X are apart of the dumbest generation .

In his article he talks about the under 30 generation actually being smarter than previous generations. And that is because of technology something seen as a mind enabler might actually be helpful.According to Thompson, Lunsford says that young people “write more than any generation” specifically any generation “before them.” So if we are the dumbest generation why are we writing more, “38 percent of it took place out of the classroom” says Lunsford. Even if the writing is occurring on facebook, through “chat sessions” and twitter it’s still happening, and believe it or not it’s benefitting our writing. Our tone and self expression is evolving quicker and better than previous

The generation of people under the age of 30 are not the dumbest generation. Due to the increase in use of technology people believe that it is causing are generation to lack intelligence. But technological advances like video games, having access to the web and having the ability to research online have improved students academic results and social skills. Throughout are generation video games have provided us with many skills that have benefited are generation in multiple ways.

Carr’s premise is that the Web is interfering with our ability to focus on lengthy material. On the contrary, the internet is actually aiding our ability to focus on reading. This holds true for younger children, who are known as the digital natives in our generation. In a research conducted by The National Center for Education shows that “by altering the mode of reading material from traditional paper-based reading to online reading,” the interest of elementary school children increased (Wright 367). Because children of the 21st century are surrounded by technology, they are more likely to gear towards digital media for their mode of learning. Contrary to Carr’s view that the internet “is chipping away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation,” these children are more likely to read and focus as a result of

It is unfortunate to say that everything teenagers search for online is not educational or socially acceptable for that matter. For students who do use the internet to their educational advantage, grade higher than those who abuse their privilege online. As McFarlane states, “computer use alone, without clear objectives and well-designed tasks, is of little intrinsic value” (qtd. In Lavin, Korte, Davies). McFarlane states that structure and guidance is the only way to properly utilize the technology in classrooms.

Every day the world is changing and things are done differently. Technology has also affected the way students are taught and in which they learn. It has changed the classroom. Technology saves us time and allows us to access material in only minutes. “The Internet and online subscription databases, even as a supplement to the printed works in the library, allow students to see, and force them to consider or reject, points of view that they might never have encountered in decades past” (Gow 4).With all the time technology produces, it also has downsides and it also may have created a less intelligent society.

What effect does modern digital technology have on individuals who rely on it heavily in their everyday lives? Innovations such as video games, internet search engines, and online databases receive great praise as well as great criticism depending on who answers this question. Nicholas Carr and Steven Johnson have both written pieces stating their opinions on technology’s effect on the human brain. Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” explains how accessing information quickly and easily through search engines like Google negatively alters the way people seek and read information and think. Johnson’s book “Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter” covers the positive attributes of digital technology, video games in particular. He explains how video games are intellectually stimulating and help develop complex skills. Digital technology has interesting effects on the different processes of our mind.

However, some would say that within education, the use of technology can influence students to cheat or take the easy way out on their assignments. “Students today can easily access essays, reports, class notes, tests, etc. online, making it that much more difficult for teachers to know if the work their students hand in is original” (Ronan). This dilemma interferes with teenagers processing new information. The Internet is a great tool; however, teens may rely too heavily on it, and worse, believe everything they see. I believe that the internet can be a great source to gain more knowledge, however, one needs to acknowledge how to effectively use this tool to benefit them.