My Mufasa pumpkin! :)Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
"Dumbest Generation"
It is absurd to think of how we have become so dependent on technology. I'm currently taking an Anthropology class called "Technology and Culture", and it has really made me think about how technology positively and negatively affects our lives. We are constantly developing new technology, but have we become too reliant on it? Yes, it has made our lives so much easier, but is our reliance on technology worth it in the long run?
Mark Bauerlein, an English professor at Emory University, recently published a book called The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30). In his book, he criticizes our generation for shaping our lives around computers. He argues that writing online and texting have caused us to develop bad habits that inhibit our capacity to write formally/academically. He also believes that social networking sites give us a contorted understanding of the world by making us feel as if we are the center of the universe. This causes people to distance themselves from physical contact with others and diminishes proper social skills. Bauerlein's suggested solution is to have parents encourage their children to pursue non-technological activities.
Bauerlein has points that I agree and disagree with. I do feel that some aspects of technology are getting a little out of hand, but that does not entirely mean that it is making our generation stupid. I agree that computers have affected our ability to write properly. We are so used to typing in shorthand and having our words spell-checked that we start to care less about our writing. Bauerlein also does have a point about social networking sites. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter do make us feel as if we are the center of the universe and they do distance us from physical contact with others. With features such as status updates and live feeds, it's no wonder that we feel as if we deserve attention. I know that I am one of the many people who (occasionally) feel as if I am entitled to let everyone know how I am feeling, what I am doing, or what I am thinking and that everyone has to pay attention to everything I post. This revelation is saddening, but true. It is so ironic how these sites cause us to feel the need to express ourselves to all of our friends, yet they wane our in-person social skills. No one ever asks for anyone's phone numbers (and when they do, people often text instead of call), they ask for Facebook pages or Twitter accounts. These sites encourage us to connect with others, yet we have to interact through virtual reality.
To me, Bauerlain's solution sounds a bit fanciful. Parents may try to talk to their children about less computer time and more outdoor play time, but let's face it-- what preteen/teenager in our current generation is going to choose running around outside over chatting with their friends online? This may sound pretty close-minded, but preteens and teenagers are always trying to keep up with the newest trends and are preoccupied with doing what everyone else is doing. In the 21st century, the Internet is the hottest commodity for our generation. As sad as it is to say, I do not know of any children who like to play dodgeball or tag outside. They all stay inside and IM their friends or fix their MySpace page. It would be nearly impossible to force a kid in our generation to stay away from computers.
Although Bauerlain does have a point about how technology is negatively affecting our generation, I do not agree with his argument that we are the "dumbest generation". Sure, our spelling is not as up to par as it should be, but that does not mean that we are stupid. Gary Small, director of the Center of Aging at UCLA and co-author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind believes that we are just as intelligent as other generations-- we are just smarter in different ways. I bet that most of us know more about computers than our parents/other adults do. What is even more fascinating is that most of us taught ourselves what we know about computers. Just because technology hinders us from certain things such as face-to-face social interaction does not mean that we are dumb. I am sure that generations before us felt that the generation after theirs was dumber than their own. It is all just a matter of how our society is constantly creating change and progress.
Here is an article from USA Today on Bauerlain's book: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-03-dumbest-generation_N.htm
P.S. Sorry for my contradictions/incoherence. It's 3AM and I was taking a break from studying for my French midterm. :)
Mark Bauerlein, an English professor at Emory University, recently published a book called The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30). In his book, he criticizes our generation for shaping our lives around computers. He argues that writing online and texting have caused us to develop bad habits that inhibit our capacity to write formally/academically. He also believes that social networking sites give us a contorted understanding of the world by making us feel as if we are the center of the universe. This causes people to distance themselves from physical contact with others and diminishes proper social skills. Bauerlein's suggested solution is to have parents encourage their children to pursue non-technological activities.
Bauerlein has points that I agree and disagree with. I do feel that some aspects of technology are getting a little out of hand, but that does not entirely mean that it is making our generation stupid. I agree that computers have affected our ability to write properly. We are so used to typing in shorthand and having our words spell-checked that we start to care less about our writing. Bauerlein also does have a point about social networking sites. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter do make us feel as if we are the center of the universe and they do distance us from physical contact with others. With features such as status updates and live feeds, it's no wonder that we feel as if we deserve attention. I know that I am one of the many people who (occasionally) feel as if I am entitled to let everyone know how I am feeling, what I am doing, or what I am thinking and that everyone has to pay attention to everything I post. This revelation is saddening, but true. It is so ironic how these sites cause us to feel the need to express ourselves to all of our friends, yet they wane our in-person social skills. No one ever asks for anyone's phone numbers (and when they do, people often text instead of call), they ask for Facebook pages or Twitter accounts. These sites encourage us to connect with others, yet we have to interact through virtual reality.
To me, Bauerlain's solution sounds a bit fanciful. Parents may try to talk to their children about less computer time and more outdoor play time, but let's face it-- what preteen/teenager in our current generation is going to choose running around outside over chatting with their friends online? This may sound pretty close-minded, but preteens and teenagers are always trying to keep up with the newest trends and are preoccupied with doing what everyone else is doing. In the 21st century, the Internet is the hottest commodity for our generation. As sad as it is to say, I do not know of any children who like to play dodgeball or tag outside. They all stay inside and IM their friends or fix their MySpace page. It would be nearly impossible to force a kid in our generation to stay away from computers.
Although Bauerlain does have a point about how technology is negatively affecting our generation, I do not agree with his argument that we are the "dumbest generation". Sure, our spelling is not as up to par as it should be, but that does not mean that we are stupid. Gary Small, director of the Center of Aging at UCLA and co-author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind believes that we are just as intelligent as other generations-- we are just smarter in different ways. I bet that most of us know more about computers than our parents/other adults do. What is even more fascinating is that most of us taught ourselves what we know about computers. Just because technology hinders us from certain things such as face-to-face social interaction does not mean that we are dumb. I am sure that generations before us felt that the generation after theirs was dumber than their own. It is all just a matter of how our society is constantly creating change and progress.
Here is an article from USA Today on Bauerlain's book: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-03-dumbest-generation_N.htm
P.S. Sorry for my contradictions/incoherence. It's 3AM and I was taking a break from studying for my French midterm. :)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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