Say What?
Doing what us GenYers do best, I spent some time researching on the Internet. I came across Mark Bauerlein’s 8 Reasons why to “not trust anyone under 30,” on Boston.com. which I thought was interesting. It provides a summary of his very much talked about book as well as a justification for his rather intense stab at Generation Y.
(I use “they” in the following list, but I am referring to Generation Y, myself included).
1. They make excellent “Jaywalking” Targets-Basically, our generation is shut out from the realities of the world because we are more concerned with friends, work, clothes, pop music, television, and social networking sites such as Facebook.
2. They don’t read books—and don’t want to either-We would rather be doing other things.
3. They can’t spell-We are so used to the abbreviations and the lack of punctuation that we utilize on the Internet that often times our mistakes go unnoticed in our formal writing.
4. They get ridiculed for original thought, good writing-It is ridiculous to even try and write formally on Myspace, Facebook, etc.
5. Grand Theft Auto IV, etc.-(This one confused me), but I think he is trying to say that our Generation is HOOKED on video games. Bauerlein used this stat to prove his point. The first week of sales for Grand Theft Auto IV was $500 million. Too much time devoted to video games and other technology often results in the need for remedial reading and writing classes.
6. They don’t store the information-The Internet is a delivery system. We go there to get information and than pass it on. We don’t try to consume and save knowledge for later use.
7. Because their teachers don’t tell them so-We don’t have enough guidance at home or in school. “It is the era of child-centered classrooms and self-esteem grading.”
8. Because they’re young-Well, I think that pretty much explains itself.
It is tough to read/write about this, knowing that I am part of the “they” that he is talking about. However, I am still wondering if we are in any “real danger” and if so, what kind of danger are we in?
Lets explore what others have to say……
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