What's Wrong with Kids Today?

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.

Teenagers now use social media to find out the news. If I didn’t happen to have social media I wouldn’t know about most of what’s happening in the world. On social media apps there is a section where you can see what is trending or what has been posted about the most recently. This is where most of us find out what is going. I believe if teenagers were to not have social media we

She then continues and presents the reader with a clear statistic of the number of the American decline in the interest towards the Arts. Dana then clearly states how the decline in literature affects society.” In 2001 the National Association of Manufacturers polled its members on skill deficiencies among employees. Among hourly workers, poor reading skills ranked second, and 38 percent of employers complained that local schools inadequately taught reading comprehension.” (Dana Gioia, “Why Literature Matters”) By presenting the reader with clear conflicts that the decline in literature has established helps the reader become aware that it is not just an opinion that Dana has but instead it is a real

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

Howard, Levine, Davis, and Peek (2003) found that young people increasingly use the Internet to get health information. Teens were more likely to approach health issues at a better angle when they were able to conduct the research themselves. They were also more likely to talk to others, including their

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.

As stated in the text What Every Middle school Teacher Should Know (2014) , “Adolescents are naturally drawn to technological advances if they they help them to be entertained, provide information to satisfy their own curiosity, and lead to more control over their lives.” Therefore as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat users, middle school students are now privy to more information which used to be more “adult centered” like world peace, child hunger, bullying, etc. These students previously would not have cared about these issues, or even acted on them; but as members of social networks, they must voice their concerns publicly

She writes, “They’re connected, they’re collaborative, they’re used to writing about themselves,” referring to the new culture created by teen internet users (Goldwasser 1). Goldwasser continues to argue teens to have an exponentially wider grasp on the world. She cites their ability to watch famous speeches, read award winning novels, share their opinions, and share their own stories as proof of the usefulness of the internet. Nevertheless, fear of the online world persists. Teenagers now have access

When teenagers don’t know major things that have happened in history, it may be there fault, but it isn’t necessarily. If parents or family members of a teenager don’t work with the way that

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?

Does taking kids out of school punish them or make them act out worst? There’s a reason why kids act out. They are most likely having problems in their personal or school lives. Troubled kids need love more than anything. Although, suspension seems like the best route, you should not suspend students that are rebelling because it lowers self-confidence, doesn’t truly punish them, and it creates resentment instead of understanding.

The internet was established in 1969(citeAPA) and had started becoming more sophisticated and popular around the early years of the Millennials. Hence, unlike the adults and older individuals from earlier generations, the millennial generation became familiar with the technological advancements at an age when their brains best develop and learn. The impact of learning during the teen years is pointed out by Jay N. Giedd, a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist, when he says, “Plasticity is the essence of adolescent neurobiology and underlies both the enormous learning potential and the vulnerability of the teen years.” Thus, as children observe new norms, such as taking selfies, become popularized, they quickly accept them as the normal and natural way to behave. Therefore, instead of mocking people of the millennial generation as being addicted to the internet, people of earlier generations must recognize that the newer generations have always lived in an internet-centered

Our generation is not, and we trust family, friends and even strangers in digital networks. Our generation does not trust advertising any more. We are most influenced by each other. We have to make our own decisions. Gigli’s paper did not predict how the Internet would change lives. Young people created Facebook and YouTube and all of a sudden we were the ones creating the media. When we want to know what a word means, we look it up straight away on Urban Dictionary. If the entry is not there, we create it. Katniss in the Hunger Games faced many dangerous situations but the children did work together – they shared information and food. They cared for each other even though they knew that would have to kill or be killed in the end. We look to our peers, not authority, for advice.

Don’t listen to them! The internet is a great place to learn and to prosper. It can give a teenager a career in the comfort of their own home. Its not all about playing video games and social media, teens are also out there meeting new people in chat sites from all over the country. But its not always the teens fault, we hammer them with homework assignments and tests that forces them to sit in front of the computer screen for hours. You cant blame the bad use of technology on students when we are the ones putting them in the situation.

Social media is causing teenagers to be negatively influenced. This is an issue, because teenagers are extremely impressionable and social media is negatively impacting their lives each day whether they are conscious of this or not. One anonymous author who wrote the article, “Teen’s Use of Social Media: Positive or Negative?” states, “90 percent of teens have used social media” (Teens’ Use of Social Media). In this statement, it is clear that a large majority of teenagers have already been exposed to some type of social media. Since teenagers learn from direct observation and experience, it is a huge problem when they witness things on social media that concern sexist, racist, or homophobic content. Many teenagers even say that they have an addiction to social media. Teens who have had bad experiences online or who do not use social media on a regular basis said that they have a stronger urge to stay away from the internet. Even though there are many negatives to social media there are some positives as well. NickMcGillivray who is affiliated with the website, TurboFuture wrote the article, “What Are the Effects of Social Media on Youth.” In his article, he states, “There are many positive aspects, but there are equally as many dangers that come with the use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google +, Tumblr, Instagram, gaming sites, and blogs” (McGillivray). In this statement, he makes it clear, that social media has both positives and negatives. One positive of social media that impacts teenager’s lives would be, how they are able to communicate with their teachers and other classmates at any time. This makes it easier for