Rahaf Harfoush

I was on CBC’s Arts & Culture show Q a a few weeks ago talking about technology and its impact on youth. It took me a while to figure out how to splice the hour long podcast into the easy listening piece for your enjoyment. And, I’ve been told I’ve gone over my bandwidth in terms of uploading images for the month, so until I get it resolved, it’s going to be ugly text posts. Sad, I know, but we all face these challenges in life and we just have keep going and persevere.

Apparently, according to Professor Mark Bauerlein technology is making Gen Y dumber, and he’s not holding any punches when it comes to saying so. Here’s the description of his book “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30.):

For decades, concern has been brewing about the dumbed-down popular culture available to young people and the impact it has on their futures. At the dawn of the digital age, many believed they saw a hopeful answer: The Internet, e-mail, blogs, and interactive and hyper-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children. The terms “information superhighway” and “knowledge economy” entered the lexicon, and we assumed that teens would use their knowledge and understanding of technology to set themselves apart as the vanguards of this new digital era.

That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen. The technology that was supposed to make young adults more astute, diversify their tastes, and improve their verbal skills has had the opposite effect. According to recent reports, most young people in the United States do not read literature, visit museums, or vote. They cannot explain basic scientific methods, recount basic American history, name their local political representatives, or locate Iraq or Israel on a map. The Dumbest Generation is a startling examination of the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its consequences for American culture and democracy.

Drawing upon exhaustive research, personal anecdotes, and historical and social analysis, Mark Bauerline presents an uncompromisingly realistic portrait of the young American mind at this critical juncture, and lays out a compelling vision of how we might address its deficiencies.

In short my arguments:

1) Technology is a neutral tool

Blaming technology for a generation’s ignorance makes no sense. Technology is not by itself inherently good or evil. It all depends on the intent of the person using it. Someone could go online, surf only celebrity gossip sites, watch endless videos of skateboarding accidents on YouTube, bully their classmates online and then call it a day. In comparison, another person could go online, read interesting opinions from thought leaders all over the world, catch up on news events, engage in lively debates and strengthen friendships. It’s the same internet people, and blaming it is pretty illogical.

2) Blanket statements don’t make friends

Now, I’m not arguing that our generation faces immense challenges. In an era of education budget cuts and an evolving technological landscape, there are some of us (a third in fact) that are struggling. That being said, to blanket an entire generation with one derogatory term is not only an insult, but it’s small minded and petty. It’s like calling all boomers sellouts or all Gen Xers disaffected. Gen Y is the largest demographic since the baby boomers, and the world’s first global generation. We’re complex.

3) That evil rock and roll

Every generation seems to think those coming after it are crazy, lost and stupid. It’s natural. Sure maybe the majority of kids aren’t going to museum but which Boomers did that when they were 16? Furthermore, the web has created a platform for unprecedented levels of collaboration and creativity. Social networking platforms are being leveraged to mobilize youth around issues such as climate change or the US presidential elections.

What do you think?

There are some interesting points on both sides, and you can listen to the interview here:

RahafHarfoush-TheFoushReportsAreWeTheDumbestGeneration759.mp3.

My Two Cents

Personally, while I welcome all viewpoints, I found it a little hard to take him seriously when he kept referring to “social networking” as thought it was a cult that eats babies and worships the devil. Clearly he had never actually been on Facebook or MySpace and had simply made a bunch of assumptions based on technology he didn’t really understand. Which is a shame.

So Mark, if you read this and want a tour of MY web, let me know. I’d be more then happy to show you the interesting people, great debates and creative sites that I visit.

Update: When I posted this on twitter I forgot the link! LOL. I’m hoping that the ability to laugh at ourselves is a sign of maturity and intelligence otherwise, we’re all in trouble.