Have you ever wondered if our generation is the dumbest? Well, there’s some evidence to prove so. Generation ‘Y’ is considered to be the dumbest generation of all. This is based on numerous experiments, polls, surveys, etc. While everything else in this world is rising, intellect of each generation is falling. With the ignorance of facts, by choice, and lack of some education, Generation ‘Y’ is considered to be the dumbest generation.
“Ignorance of facts” simply means that the education is there but this generation just chooses not to use it. According to one of my sources, 56 percent of 18-to 29-year-olds have low knowledge levels while only 22 percent of 50-to 64-year-olds did. This shows that today’s age knows less than half of what previous generations know. With this much access to education, technology, books and documents that this generation has, the percentile should be much lower than that. In this day and age, people are more focused on social media sites than getting their head in the books. People would rather see false accusations and false information on websites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and so forth instead of picking up a newspaper and reading what truly occurred. The world we live in today is nothing compared to past generations. There is so much knowledge in our elders that has failed to be passed on the the youth, it’s nonsensical. Knowledge is power and if we want to help the next generations become more intelligent, we need a great deal of power.
The lack of basic skills is financially a problem, too. The government and employers are also spending too much money on basic writing skills. A 2003 survey of managers shows that employers are spending $1.3 billion a year on basic writing. (Begley, Sh...
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...of getting them an actual book knowing that it would only sit there. According to Andrea Lunsford, 38 percent of writing takes place outside of a classroom. She also said that we are in the midst of a literacy revolution. This generation has more access to knowledge than anyone ever has. This generation is in for something great. There might be evidence why Generation ‘Y’ is the smartest but with the ignorance of facts, by choice, and the lack of education, Generation ‘Y’ is considered to be the dumbest generation.
Bibliography:
Bauerlein, Mark. The Dumbest Generation. New York: Penguin. 32, Print.
Begley, Sharon. “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb.” Newsweek. 24 May, 2008. Print.
Jacoby, Susan. “The Dumbing of America.” The Washington Post.17 February, 2008. Print.
Thompson, Clive. “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy.” Wired Magazine. 24 August, 2009. Print.
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In “Cultural Illiteracy,” a preface to the novel The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein critically evaluates how technological distractions affect the younger generation. Bauerlein states that “digital diversions” are cutting the younger generation off from culturally enhancing mediums and is in turn making the younger generation less intelligent. Though Bauerlein is correct about the increase of peer pressure due to technology, he is mistaken about how technology is making the younger generation unintelligent.
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Such frustrating scenarios are not uncommon in the learning center. Developing and practicing effective personal writing skills is crucial for recording individual expression and communication, logging personal experiences and preserving a culture’s civilization (Powell, Harms and Barry, 2006). Successful Americans in all walks of life depend on producing clear oral and written communication. A survey of one hundred and twenty major American corporations (Powell, Harms and Barry, 2006) finds that approximately eight million employees must demonstrate strong writing skills for employee retention and promotion. Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility; effective communications via e-mail and PowerPoint are often job requirements (Needles & Knapp, 2004).
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I strongly believe that people of my generation are smarter and more intelligent than our ancestors, while my grandparents disagree with this idea. I see that the present-day discovery of scientific facts and modern technology help shaping our idea of the world and lead us to the better understanding of the world, by giving us skill of swiftness, convenient access to information and fact of nature, and correcting the false myths. Also, brand-new style of teaching allows kids these days to be more creative and confident than those in the old days, as students are allowed to use ask their teacher when in doubt, and join an open discussion in class.