Are we actually the "dumbest generation" or are we just creating new ways of thinking? Studies say that we are reading more varied and shorter bits of information, as opposed to novels, and our longer essay writing is being replaced with shorter idea blurbs, thanks to blogs, Facebook, and Twitter Just as print culture made us worse at using our memory, are we losing something important? Are we gaining something? Use examples from the video to explain.
Well as always society is always changing, something new to the older generations is "native" to the children growing up with the new phenomenon. Most often they dont necessarily agree with the change but maybe thats because as they were growing up they adapted to a lifestyle just as this generation is adapting to technology. I am by no means saying that technology is the best or even the worst, it's all a matter of how you look at it. In some ways I agree that we are gaining things from the technology, more options, more time manageable ways of doing things, simpler/green options to pay bills, do banking, talk to a distant friend and even shop sometimes. These are things that were never even thought of before, technology is a really big contributor to society for many things, it is much of the way things work and are possible. But I do agree that it can be a future decline for society from other views. Students are being distracted from studying, being able to multitask is really plummeting, children are becoming "addicted", many children dont even play outside anymore they are more wrapped up in nintendos, computers, etc. Some of the being outside, figuring things out on our own, participating in community activities, those are things that really contributed to the well-roundedness of members of society. But I will agree "Everybody uses it" at some point, at this point in life i'm not sure if we could do without out it. Just a part of life.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is constantly growing, just like people. Since society is so depended on technology these days we begin to ask ourselves has this become a problem? In the video we watched, “Digital Nation,” it showed the different ways we use technology in our everyday life. “Technology is like oxygen,” says one of the people in the video. In some ways technology can be used in good ways, like advancing research in medicine, paying bills, or simply just phoning a ride home. Technology can either be good or bad it just depends on how we use it, as well as, how often. Technology has made life easier in some ways, but does that mean less work for an individual? Were losing our ability to think and comprehend better, because technology has created a shortcut for us in many ways like book summaries online, blogs and etc. The question isn’t have we become the “dumbest generation,” the question is have we become the laziest generation?
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a rapidly growing industry, and it has impacted the world in many ways. One one hand, there are so many wonderful things about it, such as being able to communicate with people across the globe, having access to so much information, the ability to share and archive information in a new media, and so much more. However, Along with the information that could be useful to us, there even more times the amount of videos, games, blogs, and social networking sites that take over our lives. Perhaps the greatest damage that could be done is the impact of the internet on future generations. Because we have grown up with the internet and technology, we have become dependent on it, “like oxygen” as one of the teachers said. However, there is also other damage, as done by the Stanford research studies, such claiming to multitask, despite science proving otherwise. Finally, the internet impacts the way future generations interact socially face-to-face. We are so used to having technology in our grasp at all times we lose sight of the value of talking to someone face-to-face or being able to write and express complete thoughts and arguments. Because we are used to getting anything we want instantly with internet, we are becoming more impatient and have difficulty focusing on completing one task. Finally, industries have made technology so alluring that we become addicted like kids in Asia. As a result, technology could potentially harm a family’s stability and even harm the health of children involved because of constantly sitting on the computer (such as obesity, ear problems, and eye problems). Nevertheless, technology is an important part of our lives, as mentioned above. So, like anything we have in life, we have to learn how to use it appropriately and in moderation.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is changing everyday. I believe that we are not the dumbest generation. We are constantly finding a way to improve education by the use of technology. Now in out society, young kids are using education games on the internet to expand their knowledge. Facebook is becoming a good source for finding jobs, and also networking. Sometimes it can be distracting to multitask while in class, but students are becoming more and more efficient as new technology is being produced. One school took the initiative to get all the students laptops.It showed how students behaviors and learning patterns changed. I think the more technology we have will be beneficial and helpful to us due to the society we live in. The society is also loosing the hands on approach of knowledge that was taught the traditional way. As, the society changes i believe the way we intake education will to .
ReplyDeleteTechnology is the future in many regards. It has helped to streamline businesses and it also serves to increase efficiency. Many CEO’s of large companies are often associated with up-to-date gadgets, like the Blackberry, and being able to have information at their fingertips makes them even more powerful because of their ability to be in constant communication with everyone. However, younger people use the Internet as a means for entertainment. In my opinion, the constant checking of Facebook and e-mail accounts is distracting as well as counterproductive. I think that the youth is definitely losing touch with being humane. The boy in the video was very involved with his video games that he wouldn’t even properly answer the questions that his mother would ask him and that was truly disheartening, to know that something like Internet video games had completely taken over the life of someone so young. His mother even said that she thought that he had an addiction problem to video games so she sent him to a therapeutic camp in order to combat this constant need of cyber entertainment. I think that the Internet is very useful in helping us stay linked in but it also is damaging our responsiveness in the long-term. There was a study done with college students in the video with their responsiveness to stimuli, which was basically just to see how well they could actually multitask. The findings supported the notion that they were actually worse at multitasking than they had made themselves out to be. All in all, I guess the take home message for me at least is to complete and finish tasks instead of trying to juggle upwards of 3 activities because it is more productive to do a single task at once than to do them all.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about the advancement of technology you think about things getting faster. The side-effect that most people don't realize is that in order for things to get faster, almost instantaneous, things are also going to have to get shorter. We can download a book in 10 seconds but that is due to technology. We still have to spend days or weeks reading it because we don't have any technology to make us read faster except for our own abilities to learn. So as all this facebook, twitter, and myspace is flourishing, people are learning a new way of communicating through short, precise messages, through a more conversation-like form, as opposed to writing a book to tell the world about your ideas.
ReplyDeleteI will say that attention spans of people are getting much shorter to compensate for these instant satisfactions, but I think that in order to overcome this negative effect we need to keep inventing and keep advancing technology to a level where attention span is not an issue anymore. We will be able to get everything instantly. Whether that is going somewhere, downloading something, or talking/seeing someone. We are the biggest connected society that this world has ever seen, we just need a little more time to grasp and take full advantage of our advancing technology.
We as people are changing and technology is, and needs to be changing along with us. Like with everything you have your pro's and con's. We need to expand with our technology, but still remember how to do things manually. I mean how can you not love technology from your flat screen t.v., your cell phone, laptop, and ipod. These very things make us superior to other countries who are years behind us when it comes to technology. What we need to keep a handle on is keeping up with our traditional studies such as math, reading, and science. In this day and age there is no excuse for not being able to do simple math or read a novel. With the way our technology is it gives you easy and quick outs instead of doing the actual work. I don't blame that on technology I blame that on our laziness. One major area that I blame on technology is the way it supports these shallow and mean relationships. If you can't walk up and say it to somebody then you shouldn't be typing it on a computer. The internet sometimes gives you this false sense of security when in all actuality it can be very dangerous. Like with everything there are good and bad points, but I think in this case everything evens out and both and will find there rightful place in time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I grew up, no one had cell phones and the equivalent to a "text" was keying in 07734 in someone's pager. When I was first introduced to computers in the third grade, "floppies" were exactly that: floppy. Due to living in impovershed areas and going to schools that were too poor to afford computer classes (and neither could my family), I did not get any real computer experience until working for an airline brokerage firm in 2000. By then, the internet was in full swing and I was just beginning. I still remember the awe as I moved from site to site, learning the hard way about viruses and spam, but also seeing the vast potential of the web. Three years later I worked in communications at the College of Southern Nevada and learned much more than I could ever imagine. I regretted not being a part of this earlier. But I both envy those who grew up "wired" and feel sorry for them. As a business professional, I have also noticed a decline in the ability of people to communicate effectively even in a professional setting. Decent writing and communications skills, while still formally requested by most employers accepting applications, have definitely taken back seat to technological knowledge. I often get email messages from another firm's accounting managers that look like they were poorly tapped out on a cell phone by someone with a subpar grasp of English, although it seems to be their primary, if not only language. But I also have succumbed to technology in many ways, other than being glued to my laptop and phone. I'm much more likely to text the owner of my company regarding an important financial decision than I am to call him. I know he'll answer a text much more quickly than listen to and return a voicemail. I don't think it's fair to call the digital generation the "dumbest", as they have and will continue to achieve some amazing things. There are a different set of priorities, and a different skill set needed to thrive in an ever evolving technologically based society.
ReplyDeleteI thought the video showed more of the extreme version of how technology is affecting our society. I don’t think the average person is in danger of killing themselves from spending 50 hours playing a video game. I don’t think we are any dumber than any other generation; we have access to so much more knowledge, and I think because of this perhaps our brains are just being spread more thinly.
ReplyDeleteI believe one researcher made a very good point when he said we are losing a long attention span and focus, but the gain is so much more worth it, just as the loss of memory was worth the gain of written language. I do think it is sad that some people feel they have to be ‘connected’ 24/7 and young children are given cell phones. Some students have told me they give their Facebook password to someone else when they have a test coming up. I think it is really sad that they lack the self-control to stay off when they have to study. But without the internet, there are still many ways to avoid studying. If people weren’t on Facebook in class, they would be daydreaming about something else. Technology may be changing our society, but it is changing in as many good ways as bad.
I do not think that we are the “dumbest generation;” I believe that we are simply the most distracted generation. Never before in history have there been the so many things available that do such a good job of keeping virtually everyone that we know in communication 100% of the time. For example: cell phones. These are devices that have gained the ability to do a vast number of different activities beyond their initial intended use of simply exchanging verbal dialogue between two people. Additionally, things such as Facebook and Twitter have caused us to adapt to writing things in smaller, more summarized versions; because of this we have a more difficult time being able to create works of writing that are longer and flow. In fact, one of the interviewing students made a comment about how he has a difficult time being able to make a paper into a complete thought, because instead he will “write one paragraph, and then take a break, and then later on do another paragraph.” Although, having that been said, I do not believe that because of these new innovative technologies that we have permanently become dumber; I simply think that we have adapted to the demand of mental power that is needed to perform the smaller, simpler tasks of writing the blogs, Facebook messages, and twitter posts. I fully believe that we could revert back to the way that we were even before the time of print when we were required to memorize the long poems and songs of the ancient people as was described in the video. I do believe that we are gaining something from these new technologies. Specifically, I believe that we are gaining a better understanding of people and how they behave to certain stimuli. I believe that we are able to do this in today’s society so much more than the society of before because in the modern world we have drastically more communication not only with more people, but also more diverse groups of people. This is done via the internet and through its many forms of communications (email, instant messenger, social networking sites, ect.). This better understanding of people will ultimately help us – the people of the world - to form a more accepting, less prejudice world.
ReplyDeleteAs pointed out in the video, it does seem that this generation is becoming less able to focus on one topic for an extended period of time. The problem is with these new concepts of things like blogs, ideas are supposed to be condensed into shorter and shorter blurbs so that some other reader is able to comment on them and understand them. Otherwise your opinion will probably get passed over if it requires too much reading. And it gets so condensed that on Twitter and Facebook you have a limit on the number of characters you can post. Many times this can ruin an opinion because it can easily be taken out of context without the proper foundation. Are we gaining something? Of course. My opinion can be heard by someone that before these social networking sites may have never crossed into my life. There is a problem with giving a voice to the masses though. Honestly, some people dont need to be heard. If you want to read a funny article pointing out some of the problems with Twitter then take a look at this site http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-twitter-can-be-dangerous/
ReplyDeleteI feel that the people using technology for an average time and not an excessive amount of time are neither losing nor gaining. With what we lose in some areas of thinking we gain in others so it seems to even out. For the kids or even adults who spend hours upon hours gaming or doing whatever they do, they are losing something...and it is important. Whether it be knowledge/study time or social skills they are both things you need to be successful in todays world. Like the kid who was sent to the two week camp without technology, you didn't see him talking to many people or making an effort to. When this happens it is showing that technology can be a problem. Now, changing from reading novels to short blurbs isn't necessarily bad. Personaly, it helps me. It makes it easier to concentrate and think about that little bit that was said rather than trying to think about what happened in the beginning of a 300 page novel. It gives us more things to think about something if it is shorter.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the boundries of our intelligence is being stretched at both ends by technology. On one hand, I do agree with the people in the documentary that we are losing the great essays and stories that can come from one long thought session. However I do not believe it to be nearly as prevalent as they made it seem. I, for instance, tend to be on facebook and email pretty frequently, but when I sit down to write an essay or read, I tend to do it all in one blast, keeping that one train of thought. For the most part, I feel like my peers do as well. I will definetly get on facebook or check email between two different homework assignments, but I tend to do one whole assignment at a time. On the other hand, ACT, MCAT, SAT and other entrance test scores have been on the rise for years and the records for number of high scores are being set each new year. I believe this to be largely because of technology and our ability to easily access more information each day than we have ever been able to before.
ReplyDeleteI think as a more seasoned adult who in elementary in the 80's was introduced to computer programs like the oregon trail ... and now a days in elementary the kids are more experienced when it comes to technology. It totally makes sense for our minds to update right along with each technological method of learning... This new technology goes to show we will never ever stop learning as long as we shall breathe in air everyday... so to answer your question, no we are not dumb as a generation.... were just not set in our ways and are willing to go along with the products of change.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that our generation is the "dumbest nation". If anything, these new technologies are implementing our learning (and making it more convenient for us), by allowing us to broaden the horizon of our thinking by giving us different ways to show what we've learned and the opinions of that, whether it be from a blog to an online quiz. For Example, in the video we were shown elementary school children on the computer, learning AND playing simultaneously. These new strategies of learning allow children to be more engaged and interested in learning, and I think that is a very important aspect in actually comprehending what is being taught to you. Without that engagement, it may be impossible to actually grasp a concept
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