Benefits Of Technology: The Dumbest Generation

According to Internetlivestats.com, the Google search engine is racking up over 3.5 billion searches each day, showing how dependent we are upon the internet in giving us information. Many searches can be found in other resources like books, but the internet overwhelms us with answers in a split second that does not make it easy for us to retain the information. In Source A, Mark Bauerlein tries to persuade the readers that we are the dumbest generation because we have all of the tools to gain knowledge, yet we are not taking advantage of the benefits they offer. The under-thirty generation is the dumbest because of the lack of common knowledge, which demonstrates how technology leads to ignorance. Over the years, technology has improved tremendously
by making it more accessible and by creating faster software. However, that does not mean the new technology will improve our education and our ability to remember the information. Mark Bauerlein says, “The mental equipment of the young falls short of their media, money, e-gadgets, and career plans.
The 18-year-old may have a Visa card, cell phone, MySpace page, part-time job, PlayStation 2, and an admissions letter from State U., but ask this wired and on-the-go high school senior a few intellectual questions and the façade of in-the-know-ness crumbles” (Source A). General knowledge is caving in order to make way for technology, transforming us into the dumbest generation. The author uses irony to describe how our generation has the many resources needed to be the smartest, but we are actually the dumbest simply because we are not using the resources appropriately in a way that allows us to maintain the material. We are quickly becoming ignorant of common knowledge as we grow to be more engaged in the world of technology. Many other authors, like Nicholas Carr, agree with the idea proposed by Mark Bauerlein about our generation being the dumbest. Nicholas Carr suggests that all of the technology we have easy access to is damaging concentration and reflection. Carr states, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski” (Source D). The author first uses the metaphor “scuba diver
in the sea of words” to emphasize that not too long ago people were submerging themselves into books and words, trying to explore and figure them out. He then contradicts that statement by using the simile “zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski” to show how generations are now finding themselves lost in the world of technology by always moving quickly. Even though technology surrounds us and is expected to help us become ‘smarter,’ we are becoming oblivious to the simple, intellectual questions. In addition to books and words, pictures are also emphasizing the idea that the under-thirty generation is quickly becoming the dumbest. In Source H, the boy has no expression, and the computer is grey. The books are different colors and show a variety of expressions. The monochrome computer next to the colorful books demonstrates juxtaposition. The boy is showing no interest in what he is looking at on the computer, but the books are lively and seem to be trying to get the boy’s attention. People are getting swallowed up in the world of technology, which is causing ignorance towards the outside world, including books and common knowledge. In the end, ignorance as a result of technology proves that the under-thirty generation is the dumbest. Everyday knowledge is slipping through our fingertips as we spend more time on technology. These so-called resources that are supposed to make us smarter, are turning out to be doing the opposite. Knowing that Google is accessed excessive amounts of times each day shows how little we know without technology, and how much we need the help of it.