I got the chance to read an excerpt from Mark Bauerlein’s “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30),” the book previously mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.
Bauerlein's Book
It was actually quite shocking, interesting, and scary all at the same time.
He makes the claim that “cyberculture is turning us into a nation of know-nothings,” which basically spells out a major problem faced by Generation Y in regards to the technology overload.
Quite fascinating was a short bit in the first chapter of his book, “Knowledge Deficits,” in which he recounts the popular “Jaywalking” skit on The Tonight Show. For those unfamiliar with this skit (as I was, due to the fact that I do not really watch late night television), it features Jay Leno walking on the streets of LA with a cameraman. He stops pedestrians on the street for a quick test of their knowledge. By knowledge we are talking about quick facts/”street smarts”.
Here is a short piece that Bauerlein included in his book:
“Do you remember the last book you read?” Leno queries a young man.
“Do magazines count?” he wonders. Moments later, a long haired guy replies, “Maybe a comic book.”
Another:
“Where does the Pope live?”
“England.”
“Where in England?” Leno follows, keeping a straight face.
“Ummm. Paris.”
Bauerlein includes some more short interactions between Leno and young pedestrians who unable to answer questions about the creator of the light bulb and classic reading such as Charles Dickens.
Although it is somewhat humorous to read in the moment, when you take a step back from the book, it is actually a lot more serious than we would like to think. Bauerlein insists that the young people interviewed on Jay Leno are not very different from a large and rising portion of Generation Y itself.
Are we doomed?
Bauerlein insists,
“Most young Americans possess little of the knowledge that makes for an informed citizen, and too few of them master the skills needed to negotiate an information-heavy, communication-based society and economy. Furthermore, they avoid the resources and media that might enlighten them and boost their talents. An anti-intellectual outlook prevails in their leisure lives, squashing the lessons of school, and instead of producing a knowledgeable and querulous young mind, the youth culture of American society yields an adolescent consumer enmeshed in juvenile matters and secluded from adult realities.“
It seems as though Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, text messaging, YouTube, etc. are taking the place of writing, reading, and exploring the world. We have so much access at our fingertips that often times we are confined to our rooms, in front of our laptops. And even when we are in school classes, who is to say that students are not on the internet while “taking notes” or attending a lecture? Although it is nice to have the world almost in our hands, as I can attest to being a Facebook member and a texter, I am also a little concerned for the long-term damage that it may be doing.
What do you think?
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