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. 
Mostly wanted to comment about your statement that technology is a neutral tool. It isn’t neutral. Nuclear power requires different structures to manage it’s safety than wind power does. If there are lots of guns around, more people will be shot, but having less doesn’t mean that the same numbers just get killed by other means. In the Absence of the Sacred is a great book that argue’s the point, but there are other references from the author here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Mander
And also, I find it interesting that his assertions are based on American youth. Isn’t it that Americans (young people) have almost the lowest literacy in the among maybe 20 prominent nations listed (at least in terms of Science and Mathematics, I think…I will have to find the source)…but I also thought that internet access was comparatively low in the United States? Take say, Singapore? I think their access is almost 100% and the achievement standard shown by their school kids outperform that of US students at the same level. So, how exactly is there a correlation between technology and intellect? I think this Mark GUY should focus on that elephant in the room – American culture.
Oh, I figured you’d have the stats for access and also literacy. I had a quick Google, but couldn’t find the stats. Am sure David warlick or someone like that could give you the stats in a jiff.
Churr!
Also – have you TRIED Traveller IQ on facebook?? I am learning heaps of global locations on there!
Thanks for sticking up for our generation. I saw you crop up on several of the podcasts I follow (like Q and Command-N), and I’m glad to know that you’re a UWO grad (I am currently a UWO student).
I agree with you on the fact that Internet is neutral. It is only a medium over which ideas can be communicated. I believe this disinterest in arts, society and politics, which Prof. Bauerlein brings up, stems much deeper than dependence on technology. You see it at university campuses where fields of study are divided into useful and not useful. Generally, engineering, business, and sciences are put in the useful category, while all others (like the arts) are relegated to the not useful category.
I hear it all the time being an MIT student at UWO (go to http://www.fims.uwo.ca if you haven’t heard about that program, and a surprising number of UWO students haven’t). Whenever I talk about my program, I inevitably will get comments along the line of “Oh, that’s not a “real” program.”
Could this be our consumerism-driven society telling us which programs will lead to the “best” jobs, and therefore, placing greater value on to those things (and less value on things that Prof. Bauerlein says are important)?
Another interesting look at this issue can be seen in China’s “me” generation. Due to their accelerated development, it’s easier to see the fall of interest in arts and society, and the growth of self-interest. I believe technology is not the cause of this disinterest/self-interest, it is in fact the product of it. Bringing the example back to a North American perspective, teens are buying and using cell phones to connect with friends because they are more interested in themselves, and they are not reading the news because they are less interested in Canada.
I, therefore, accept his criticisms. We do need to place more value on the arts, and social and political involvement. However, I think that can be seen as a greater social issue than just Generation Y’s. Also, technology is not to blame, and it will not be the solution of this issue.
Paul Sham
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Hi and thanks, Bulah Zenon