Dumbest Generation Essay

Baby Boomers (people over the age of 30) have begun to grow out of their “baby” status as many of them begin to grow older and some even begin to retire. As these Baby Boomers begin to step down from their positions, they leave a hole that Generation Y (people under the age of 30) is next in line to fill. As the years continue to pass, Generation Y will continue to assume more and more responsibilities until the day comes in which Generation Y is called upon to lead the world. However, many Baby Boomers are concerned that Generation Y just may be the dumbest generation ever. Should the fate of the world really be entrusted to this youthful, tech-savvy generation? Despite Baby Boomer fears, Generation Y just may be the smartest generation to date and it’s all thanks to technology.

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 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”.

It is believed by many that younger generations, those under the age of thirty are the “dumbest”. Apparently, technology has now influenced and molded people into less-intelligent individuals who lack the knowledge and skills that people of the same age once acquired. Though if we look at more aspects of their learning capabilities, millennials do have the potential to be bright beings, now seen through more creative, non-traditional ways. And because of this, younger generations cannot be undermined as they have high levels of cognitive abilities, the help from technology, and how technology makes them write more and be more involved with their interests. Younger generations are not limited in their cognitive abilities, rather these abilities are expanding as time progresses.

In a 2014 article on Psychologytoday.com, Ray Williams informs his audience about the rise of anti-intellectualism in American in an article called: Anti-Intellectualism and the “Dumbing Down” of America. Williams clams that America has suffered in intellectualism because society has dismissed science, the arts, and humanities and have been replaced by media, entertainment, and ignorance. He backs up this claim by citing Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, Pulitzer price winner Richard Hofstadter, author of The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein, a number of studies and statistics done across the country, and as well as many other authors on this subject. Williams makes bold claims by comparing American education to Japanese,

Intelligence is not based on what one already knows. Instead, it is based upon our ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills towards a certain topic. In other words, how one will process and use the information that has been given to them. The learning and thinking capacity today’s generation posses is not only greater than those of previous generations but more effective as well. Researcher Mizuko Ito agrees. In her 3-year study she states, “...young people acquire various forms of technical and media literacy by

In the text ‘The dumbest Generation: How The Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future’ written by English professor Mark Bauerline at Emory University, he continually emphasizes the implication that the millennial generation has intellectual deficiencies because of their dependency on social media and technology. One of his most relevant theories is that the use of video games and the integration of technology into the classroom has negative impacts on a student’s academic performance because “It conditions the minds against quiet, concerted study, against imagination unassisted by visuals, against linear, sequential analysis of texts, against an idle afternoon with a detective story and nothing else” (Bauerline 95).

An insignificant word has the ability to empower an idea. Author of The Dumbest Generation? Don't Be Dumb, Sharon Begley, writes "Baurlein [an English professor and researcher who wrote a book about the effects of digital media on young people] has in mind by 'dumbest'… means holding 'less knowledge.' " The "-est" suffix, meaning "most", leads me to suggest that the subject, those under 30 years of age, are being compared to another group. Throughout the many resources provided, the current generation, or as Begley refers to "Gen Y," is compared to generations previous Gen Y. Those under 30 are not the dumbest generation.

In the first article, “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb,” Sharon Begley writes about whether, or not, the digital age is making the next generation dumber than the previous. She compares different ideas from different sources to find the answer. One source she pulls from is a book written by an Emory University professor of

Since our existence, humans have become smarter through evolution. Advances in technologies allow us to discover new ideas through science and other methods, allowing us to be smarter. However, these advances may also become harmful in the present and possibly the future. New technologies such as cell phones and computers have made life much simpler, but has also taken away the need for critical thinking. Instead of books and newspapers, all we really need is a metal brick and a few taps to get all the information we ever needed in our lives. This represents the current generations, such as the Millennials and Generation Z. The newest generation is the dumbest generation because of how they are very inept and ignorant.

You express how much you value connections as much as much as you express your other values, and you, dear reader, are likely to esteem certain types of personal connections over others. In The Dumbest Generation by Matt Baulerlein, he expresses how this exact trait could be the downfall of an entire young generation because teenagers are connecting too strongly to their technology. In Echo and Narcissus, Narcissus' fatal flaw is desiring a relationship with no one but himself, and obsessing over his own vanity. I believe that while these sources express their concerns for becoming obsessed with vanity, or technology, we must keep balance among every type of connection in order to be content and active in the world.

Today’s generation would be considered to be the dumbest generation according to college professor Mark Bauerlein. In Bauerlein’s book “The Dumbest Generation”, he argues that people under the age of 30 are the dumbest generation. However research shows that technology has improved our knowledge over time. Also social media and all things related has played a positive role in today’s generation lives.

The past generation has label the current generation the dumbest generation.thus making lots critics toward the current generations and with someone one the other side,Bauerlein . Mark Bauerlein in his book “the Dumbest Generation” says today's generation is the dumbest generation,this has been going on for millions of years in this world every old generation has labeled the current generation the dumbest.this is an ongoing debate.it lasted this the70s when the world was starting to modernize around the whole world.it has been going on for as long as when the second generation started school.this is something every generation has to go through because the past generations say we are the dumbest just because there are new advances in today's world.mostly because past generation see new advances that help education,Current generation isn't the dumbest but the smartest of the past generations.we have lots of new technology in today's generation.We are the smartest generation.Current generation are self directed learners. forms of technical and media literacy by exploring new interests, tinkering, and “messing around” with new forms of media.”Lunsford is a professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University,and she has organized a project called the Stanford Study of Writing to scrutinize college students’ prose. From 2001 to 2006, she collected 14,672 student writing samples,The first thing she found is that young people today write far more than any generation before