The Dumbest Generation

Mark Bauerlien, a professor of English at Emory, is the author of "The Dumbest Generation". In his new book, he strongly criticized the new generation- people who are younger than 30.Bauerlien incriminated new technologies and especially internet for "stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future". He accused young people for getting dumber, read less, achieve less and spend too much time in front of the computer or tv screen do nothing but waste their time.

He said in his book: "they don't read, they don't go to museums or get involves in community life, they don't do much homework". I personally disagree with this statement.There isn't any specific proof from professor Mark for saying that. We do read actually. The thing we do less is going to the library. Young people nowadays have a better, cheaper source to get books and they can find what they want to read easier from the internet. There are tons of websites that you can buy books from or just read them online, free. So now, not only rich people but poor people can also afford reading books. So thanks to new technologies. Also, people are getting more involved in community life as the number of people who participated in charity works and donation has been increasing. Of course new technologies like: internet, television, radio etc. have helped a lot. It makes spreading news much easier, time consuming, affective and over a wider area. Mark Bauerlien is definitely wrong when he stated that: "they don't do much homework". This is not true! I'm a student myself and I have to work hard everyday to get my homework finish on time. Doing homework is not a choice for students. We have to do them. Also, students themselves realize how doing homework can help them understand more about their lessons and it is a good way to revise. Plus, it is not a student responsibility for the amount of homework that is given. It is the school's the teacher's responsibility to make sure they give enough homework and to check that the students complete their homework on time.

Mark Bauerlien commented in his book that people under 30s are using abbreviations too often and they can't spell correct. Really how many abbreviations can you actually find? They are like a drop of water to the ocean of English vocabularies. According to a recent research, there are only about 35 common abbreviations and there are 988 968 words in an Oxford English dictionary. Even a primary student can tell 35 words can't ruin a language, right? People who spell inaccurately are old people because they don't write and read as much as teenagers and young adults. Is it possible for students being unable to spell if they have to read and write formally at least 8 hours everyday? Using abbreviations is not bad at all. It is just a faster, "cooler" way in communication.

Mark Bauerlien also pointed out how teenagers are spending hours in front of the TV and computer screen doing nothing useful but wasting their time. I don't really disagree with this point. Yes, kids are spending more time commenting on facebook, chatting and playing online games. Still, by using computer we can read books online and many of us do order books online; we can research for things that we don't know, extend our vocabulary and find useful notes that can help us in revising or improving our knowledge on a certain topic. Watching TV is not a bad habit, too. There are many educational programme like Discovery channel, Animal planet, CNN, BBC etc. that are very interesting but also provide us lot of useful information. In fact, 53% of Americans prefer watching news on TV than reading newspaper. Additionally, you can learn faster and remember for a longer time from watching something than reading it.

Finally, I'm really disappointed when a professor accused young people for being " not smart". Really what does he expect us to be? We are not born intelligent. We are trying as hard as people used to. It is not our fault for being dull. Anyway, we are smart. According the CNN website, the IQ rate for teenagers in 2007 has risen compare to statistic from 2001. More than 45% people in America know at least 2 languages and 78% of them can speak fluently in their second language. Professor Mark Bauerlien, if you think we are not smart enough then help us - stop criticizing people.

In conclusion, I have a totally different view on the young generation and new technologies compare to Mark Bauerlien's. Technologies make life easier so that we can therefore, spend time on solving more complicated problems and trying to create a better world. "We are smart - you are not" is a short message that I want to deliver to professor Mark Bauerlien.