There is an underground campaign slowly spreading through the rank and file of many academics, journalists, and other individuals. This campaign can be aptly named the Digital Stupidity of the Younger Generations. I have been reading quite a few posts recently about the lack of “true” intelligence in the digital generation. Frankly, I’ve reached my breaking point. Thanks to The Independent, a newspaper based out on London, I have finally gone over the edge of annoyance to downright anger.
Andrew Keen has a post on Digitally Addicted Kids Threaten to Return Civilisation to the Dark Ages. Here is a brief synopsis of the post from the author:
The internet is creating a generation of ignoramuses with tiny attention spans, who will surely become the dumbest generation in history.
Andrew starts the post by talking about Megan Meier, a teen who committed suicide over the cyber-bullying of a peer and the peer’s mother. This is a sad story of a social network being used in the worst possible way. I haven’t quite figured out how it connects to the increasing lack of intelligence in my generation.
Book cover via Amazon
From Andrew’s Post:
In The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future, the Emory University English professor Mark Bauerlein demonstrates how the internet is making young people increasingly ignorant about almost everything except online video games and the narcissism of self-authored internet content.
I don’t know about the rest of my generation but I am getting pretty tired of being stereotyped.
Would you like to know one of the main reasons why kids spend too much time playing video games? Why do you think teenagers spend so much time on social networks like Myspace and Facebook?
Parenting.
There has been so much blame placed on media and technology for the lack of intelligence in my generation. In reality, the majority of the problem is in the older generation and how they have raised the younger future. If you want your kids to read. If you want the younger generation to pick up a book instead of browsing blogs… encourage us.
I would rather not read degrading posts and comments around our lack of inhibition or intelligence. You are stereotyping an entire generation of future business leaders, politicians, service workers, teachers, and everything in between.
We need to take a look at all areas of the problem and not just video games or social media. Social Media has been a huge influence in my life, both intellectually and personally. If you are going to completely degrade something that has had a large impact in my life… do it with some class because you are embarrassing yourself.
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Kyle, Don’t be so bold to believe that your generation is so extrodinary that it is the only one that has ever been sterotyped. We all have, read histroy and you will see that there is always some concern by the older generations that the younger generation is just not as smart as they were at that age. Truth is we were smoking dope, protesting and burning our bras and the generation above us was certain we were all going to hell because of Rock and Roll. Now we were concered about the Gen Xers and they are concerned about the Gen Yers…..kinda funny when you think about it, it is so predictable.
One day I realized my daughter and I were vegging out in front of the TV, while simultaneously being on our respective computers “networking”, and not spending enough quality time together. She gets A’s and B’s and still reads books, so I hadn’t really worried about limiting her access. I woke up. You were spot on to say it’s our job as parents to monitor those things and to encourage other behaviors. I canceled cable and instituted family dinners again and better conversation and debate on subjects in the news. It’s been a fantastic experience and I’m loving discovering that my daughter is growing up much more intelligent than I was at her age!
[...] Are We The Dumbest Generation? Do Me A Favor And Take a Look in the MirrorOctober 23rd, 2008 by Kyle Lacy Posted in millennial, social mediaKyle Lacy, Social Media – Indianapolis, Oct 2008 [...]
You might try looking at the research in the book, Kyle, if only by browsing in the bookstore. If I have any facts wrong, I’ll concede.