The Not So Greatest Generation (The Dumbest Generation: Don't Trust Anyone Under 30)

The Spectator ^ | Jan 15,2009 | David N. Bass

[SeekAndFind]

With his soft voice and unassuming manner, Mark Bauerlein seems an unlikely prospect for penning an ostentatious book like The Dumbest Generation. The title immediately brings to mind the Greatest Generation, the idol of 20th century American history that weathered the Great Depression, beat the Nazis at Normandy, and brought us swing music. But the generation that Bauerlein writes of is very different. Ignorant of politics and government, art and music, prose and poetry, the Dumbest Generation is content to turn up its iPods and tune out the realities of the adult world. It is brash, pampered, young, and dumb -- and content to stay that way.

Or so argues Bauerlein, an Emory University English professor and baby boomer. It would be an easy accusation for my generation (I'm 23) to ignore. After all, the fogies have always railed against the ignorance and excesses of youth. What's the point of reading a book or going to a museum in the age of Wikipedia? Why bother knowing who the Speaker of the House is or voting for president when the only vote that matters is the hit count on my latest YouTube video? Being able to locate Mexico on a world map or name the Axis powers during World War II won't help me score a date on Friday night or get tapped for the high school football team.

But something is different this time. In past generations, the young had fewer opportunities to fritter away their lives. Two-parent households and a generally religious culture made sure of it. Today, half of teens grow up in single-parent households and secularism dominates society. Undergirding that is the digital culture, the 24/7 rush of information and entertainment that young adults thrive on. Bauerlein says it's a rush that's killing their intellectual development.

[SeekAndFind]

This is what the author of the book observes :

"Speaking of homework, teens spend twice as much time in front of the boob tube as they do completing school assignments, according to a study Bauerlein refers to in the book. The citation is one of many he uses to build his case against the encroaching evils of the digital world. Given the evidence, it's not a hard case to make. When a higher percentage of students can name the Three Stooges than the three branches of government, something is amiss.

Bauerlein points to reading apathy as a major contributing factor. One study found that 18- to 24-year-olds are the least active, least avid reading group in the country except for those 75 and older (who probably suffer from age-related ailments that make reading difficult to begin with). High school and college students have time to read -- another study found that they average five and a half hours of leisure time per day -- but they choose less intellectually stimulating avenues of entertainment. In fact, the average teen now dedicates the equivalent of a full-time job to media. "It isn't enough to say that these young people are uninterested in world realities. They are actively cut off from them," Bauerlein writes.

[GeronL]

yup. I would agree with that.

Anyone see that movie Idiocracy?

[GeronL]

yup. I would agree with that.

Anyone see that movie Idiocracy?

[ClearCase_guy]

The reviewer defends today's electronic media gadgets, saying:

Yet these entertainment mediums are just that -- mediums that can be used for either good or evil. How an individual chooses to use the tool is the moral question, not the tool itself.

But Marshall McLuhan might disagree. Sticking an ipod in your ears, chatting with total strangers on MySpace, etc. -- it's pretty central to this sort of lifestyle that you're not interacting with the world that's in front of you -- you're off in your own world. The author seems to be making this point, but the reviewer seems not to be getting the point. Maybe that's because he's part of the Dumbest Generation.

[rellimpank]

—bflr-

[Cicero]

Bundesanstalt fur Landeskunde und Raumen…?

[durasell]

It doesn’t matter. There are still plenty of smart kids who read, understand abstract concepts and are willing to work their butts off.

[beaversmom]

This thread relates:

THIS KID’S A TEXT MANIAC OMG! 14,528 MESSAGES IN A MONTH!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163104/posts

[keving]

I supervise people who fit into this category and say:

“the world needs ditch diggers too.”

[beaversmom]

It does matter. The idiots will drag the smart ones down. Higher taxes because the idiots can’t take care of themselves. Higher crime because idiots are more likely to turn to drugs and crime. Higher out of wedlock births because idiots don’t think about consequences to their own offspring let alone society. More idiots in public office because idiots can be easily persuaded and bought by shiny baubles and “free” money.

[Calpernia]

[Calpernia]

bttt

[GeronL]

Thats where we are headed

[this_ol_patriot]

Anecdotal but from speaking to younger people at work they have no idea of the evils of Communism or Socialism, they think of these systems as viable alternate forms of government. This is scary.

[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.  

[model B]

My wife is 28. I am 35 — She has an IPOD, I do not. I have no degree — only about 90 credits toward a History degree. My wife has a bachelor’s in speech language pathology and is on her way to a Master’s. She graduated summa cum laude and currently has a 3.9 GPA — she has less than a year left. All while working full-time with our child who is now two years old.

Dumb? Disinterested? Swamped by digital media? I don’t think so! People need to be careful when they paint with such broad strokes. There are slackers in all generations.

[JimC214]

Does the not trusting any one under 30 include the Men and Woman who are fighting our enemies? I mean if we are going to make stupid generalizations.

[Kozak]

Oh. Like all those men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces and defending the asses of people like the author?

[Starfleet Command]