The Dumbest Generation

[DiDolRuChagi]

I will not deny the fact that I spend a little to much time on the World Wide Web, and I spend a little too much time using my computer. But I would prefer to read a book online, or on my iPod or cellphone. I prefer the convenience of the iPod/phone, and the size comparison. I still go outside, and I still will pick up a book and read. How on earth does this make me dumb? Consider other reasoning's behind the lack of "knowledge", and do not solely blame the internet and technology.

[karllieb]

@DiDolRuChagi He is making a generalization about your generation. He is not saying this about you personally.

[DiDolRuChagi]

I am for Generation Y. Born in 1989, and I spent much of my time reading, and learning. I played outside, and I played inside. I learned and adapted. Just like now, in this day and age, I will learn and adapt to what the world is coming too. Technology is the future, and will not slow down. I use technology for leisure, whether I play a game, do my classwork, read articles, catch up on the news, use social networking. It does not make me dumb, it allows me to communicate with the world. Now...

[TheCHRM2]

Worst world ever for young people?

[TheCHRM2]

The new generation nowadays is really living in a information nightmare wasting our days with services and products whose makers provide users chaotic freedom and no good steering.Chaotic freedom=mass scale baiting, they want to attract everyone and sell our attention to the people they really care about, the advertisers ,the people that pay their bills.

[TheCHRM2]

My computer was broken for one month, during that time i read The Wealth of the Nations, Lolita, Divine Comedy and about 20 short stories from Hemingway to Chekhov. Now my computer is working very well but my brain isn't, one third of my day is porn surfing and the rest is mindless wandering through YouTube clips,Facebook profiles, movies, news(Wired,Reuters,BBC,CNN, news daily), Amazon, Price Grabber,radio streams, Twitter, e-mail accounts,Messenger, Second Life and Gaming(online mostly).

[BodybuildinginTX]

Do you know why we laugh at you Bauerlein? We know that should you take a class that we are in, you would fail miserably. I personally don't know a single person my age that doesn't read just to read. I would absolutely love to see this old, ignorant man try to take the "basic" courses in college today. It'd be hilarious, the man fills his head with useless information that doesn't pertain to life in any way and claims himself to be smarter than the youth today?

[VigilanteNighthawk]

@BodybuildinginTX

Agreed. I have a degree in history, and now I'm a computer programmer. I largely taught myself the basic CS principles and AI, both from books and the internet. Somehow, though, my using web based books instead of hard copies makes me dumber than someone who read the same material from a book, and watching a lecture from Fora or TED certainly makes me dumber than him because he spent his time reading fiction.

[Magniton1]

Holy shit, this guy is a fucking moron. People read more now days then people read books in the 80's. The internet lets people read more.

[Ricardo72]

@Magniton1 Your comment is evidence for his point. A well-read person wouldn't use coarse language and have fit over a different point of view.

You say people read more, but what exactly are they reading online? Surely writing to standard of Tolstoy, Balzac, Wells, Turgenev etc. I've seen it myself, when someone uses the Internet for knowledge, they either skim articles or get what they from google and don't bother to check the sources.

[chameleonquest]

Its hard to take him seriously when he guages "dumb"ness by the amount of time spent reading. At the very least, he should, instead, look at test scores to determine a trend in aptitude.

[drbayoms]

@chameleonquest

You fit the archetype of exactly the individuals he is referring to. You saw a 2 min Youtube clip and did not bother to check out any articles, corresponding videos or even a few of his book excerpts to better understand his point. You actually proved him correct. And he does not base intelligence solely on reading. Stop looking for the "quick info byte" (typed that way on purpose) and look for a more nuanced meaning of things, including this author's message/rant.

[chameleonquest]

@drbayoms I see nothing wrong with judging a statement by the content of the statement. I only heard 2 minutes of what he has to say and I recognized and all too familiar technophobic reasoning. I'm not judging the man as a whole, what he did in high school, what books he wrote... I'm making a comment on the video's statements. just like you made a comment from reading 10 seconds worth of what I had to say.

[dav4ix]

i realy think that this is very true ... i think in future , computer usage time will be limited,because it stupifies society in all levels ...

[ndividuall]

I would only say that not everyone in our generation is hopeless. Only a majority forms this stereotype, making it generally true. However, just as we don't use stereotypes alone in justifying searches under the 4th amendment, we shouldn't be prejudge individuals based on age. To be cliche, don't judge a book by its cover. I know plenty of dumb people older than 30.

[ndividuall]

*shouldn't prejudge

[PatriotKS1975]

All of the comments on this video, prove this video. The youth are for the most part dumb. :)

[0shane29]

i read a book the dame playboy book

[PatriotKS1975]

You prove his point dumb dumb. Good job.

[zofire123]

Obviously not the popular opinion by reading others comments, but you have to admit...the man has a point...our generation is so focused on getting the latest techy gadget, we become more isolated from reality and stop thinking about real world issues going on in the world because ooo I want to put pictures of myself making kissy faces and wearing my ugg boots to show how shallow and conformist I am on facebook or myspace. Granted I use a lot of the internet too, but I try to limit time wasting.

[PatriotKS1975]

Use the internet all day. Just use it to read about things that MATTER. No need to limit time. If your not online and your glued to a TV, whats the point?

[convivator]

I hate you so much Marc B. You cherry pick studies to come to this conclusion. In my daily work with old people, I seam to drown in a lake of stupidity. There are a few smart and a f...ing big lot of stupid people in every generation.

[plzwhine]

*seem

[DecimusIunius]

Professor Bauerlein, you could not be more wrong! Students most certainly do NOT read what they are required to read for school. They don't have to, because they know that they are, by and large, going to pass anyway. Even if a teacher or professor is tough enough to withstand the incessant pressure by students and their parents to ease the standards and/or "fix" poor grades, they can't withstand a department head or principal threatening their jobs if they don't do the same thing.

[hzvkj]

man, you sound retarded

[spikesmth]

He's pretty arrogant. Just because one doesn't know about classical literature doesn't devalue the other knowledge they have. I agree that most teens today are stupid, but only because they're in a culture where being smart is an item of ridicule (like "Idiocracy"). The education establishment needs to adapt & integrate themselves WITH the internet since it's how us young-folk learn & leisure all at once. Plus, Math & Science deepen our understanding of the world far more.

[ultimategoobah]

they are really not that bad. they still possess enormous creative ability.

[JustinHampel]

I agree. Those 16 year olds should have their PhDs by now!

[PursuitOfReality]

lol

[EziekielNightwind]

Did he take into account that in the early 1980s the first personal computers were only JUST hitting the market?

[Bluedragon094]

Books are fine but not nearly as convenient nor as engaging.

The reason people read books back in the day is because that was the most engaging form of entertainment they could consistantly do in their free time, and then tv, and now internet.

[ILovePhysics10689]

Back when the paperback binding was initially introduced, they thought it would be the end of publishing; however, more books are sold today than ever before. This guy is just another misguided loser who couldn't write a good book about a decent topic and is taking it out on people with youth. Maybe he should take his own advice by just shutting up and reading a book.

[warjjahnathan]

I think it's just a generation of change.

Wikipedia and google made it easy for students to research better. Every generation things get easier and faster for them. Travel, communication, and networking. so we're not the dumbest generation, for not reading books and going to the library?