Essay On The Dumbest Generation

As generations go by, our predecessors assume we are skipping out on important aspects of life just to get a few extra minutes on our devices. In Catherine Rampell’s “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, it is said the older generations believe Generation Y is “coddled, disrespectful, narcissistic, and impatient” (Rampell 388). In all reality our generation is just doing what it has to in order to thrive in the world we live in, where technology is one of the largest parts of our everyday lives. If the older generations that criticize Generation Y had grown up in Generation Y they would realize the world we live in requires the use of technology. The advancement of society with technology has shaped Generation Y to be the people that they are, relying on technology; however, older generations believe Generation Y is lazy.

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.

Is Generation Y the dumbest generation yet? In Sharon Begley’s essay “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb” she brings up an author by the name if Mark Bauerlein. Bauerlein has wrote a book describing how he believes Generation Y is the “dumbest generation” and is blaming it on their ignorance with use of the internet. He uses very basic evidence, such as that there has been a decline in adult literacy from 40 percent of high school grads in 1992 to 31 percent in 2003. (Begley 90) Begley brings up a very good point as the definition of “Dumbest”. (91) She proposed two separate definitions, the first being “holding the least knowledge” and the second being “lacking such fundamental cognitive capacities as the ability to think critically and

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”.

Which generation really takes the title of the dumbest generation? Is it people under the age of 30? How does age have a part in this statement? And why is there even a dumbest generation?

“The Greatest Generation” is a term used to describe the generation who were the children of the Great Depression and who became the adults of the Second World War (Brokaw). There may be strong reasons why other generations may be considered great. The generation born during the war undertook the task of putting a man on the moon. This is perhaps the most important of all human endeavors. They are certainly worthy of being considered great but not the greatest. In fifteen years America and indeed the world endured the crushing poverty of the Great Depression and the costliest war in all of human history. The enormous struggles and accomplishments of this generation is what makes it the greatest.

With the newer technology at this generation's fingertips , they are considered lazy by their lack of effort and common knowledge . The internet has changed how the newer generation

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,

Bauerlein claims, “Young Americans have much more access and education than their parents did, but in the 2007 Pew survey on ‘What Americans Know:1989-2007,’ 56 percent of 18- to 29- year-olds possessed low knowledge levels, while only 22 percent of 50- to 64- year-olds did”(Bauerlein). This allusion to a Pew survey shows that more under 30’s are dumb, this is believed to be because of this generation’s access to new technology. Even though the older generations may have had less information they showed up smarter, this is because instead of having all information easy at the finger-tips they had to read and learn. Even with all of the technology they have, this

An author by the name of Mark Bauerlein claims in his book The Dumbest Generation that the generation of people younger than 30 are the dumbest yet. The generation of people younger than 30 are not the dumbest generation because video games teach them valuable lessons in life and also because the internet has changed how they think.

Americans today look back and realize how much technology has advanced. The big question is whether this technology is affecting our way of thinking. Or like some authors politicians and older generations say “ dumb.” So why is it that we are considered the dumbest generation, won’t we just grow up and call the next generation dumb? Older generations (over 30) believe that people under 30 are the dumbest generation, but if you think about it that’s what each generation has said about the previous, making it a pointless and incorrect statement said by the elderly.

I personally believe that the argument my generation (commonly labelled “the millennials”) is the dumbest one thus far is lacking evidWith the regards to being labelled the “dumbest generation”, my thoughts are that we are not any less intelligent than the generations that have gone before, but, instead, that our intelligence lies in a different area than our parents, grandparents, and distant ancestors. I believe that since the millennial generation has grown up in the presence of technology, it is only conceivable that we would utilize our resources to our advantage. Generations before had to learn certain processes in the absence of technology such as simple mathematic operations or how to properly spell words. In this respect since technology

Unimaginable. A group of boys who set out to escape World War II cling on for dear life so tomorrow won’t slip away. They fight to live another day in the hope of being rescued. Terrified. The group of boys develop fears that tear away at their relationships and sanity. Impossible. A group of technology ridden, social media obsessed, lazy teenagers, could never be self sufficient. Unprepared. A world where falling short is the equivalent of destruction would be a first for the technology ridden, lazy teenagers. Lost cause. Generation Z, incapable of success or prosperity. Everyone is the same and everyone is bound to disappoint. Every single person perfectly fits into societies labels and definitions of themselves. Generation