Our Generation is Stupid?

[Raine]

Our generation is certainly different than the last, but while we're tech obsessed, and maybe occasionally lazy with school work, we're also more educated and open about matters involving equality and rights than they are. Some of us are understanding of issues that they would turn up their noses at, and not even attempt to debate. What some of us can do with computers would make them have heart attacks. Their generation had its share of people that were "stupid" as well, if that's what you wanna call it. You never hear of the uneducated because they never made a name for themselves, you only hear of the success.

I think with all the innovations, rather than inventions, within the technological field is what contributes to our apparent obsession and increased levels of laziness. On that note, would we consider the older generation "stupid" for not being able to handle the different types of technology that society has acquired since their generation? Probably not. We are becoming, or are already, at the stage where we are highly dependent on technology for managing everything, from the simplest to most complex, and thus comes with it a sense of ignorance that could potentially be attributed to our generation's "stupidity." Though like previous posters have mentioned, our generation is thoroughly aware and understanding of certain issues that were forgotten or neglected before.

 

[AoTora]

Well I wouldn't say that the generation is stupid - but you can certainly see changes between never and older generations - mainly because we now have so many apps and so many sites (Facebook, Twitter etc.) - I don't consider someone "stupid" when they have horrible grammar - but rather annoying if they do it on purpose. I've read a lot when I was a kid - We didn't have Facebook or computer at that time - I only had computer for games built-in it and we read more than this generation is - so this might be another reason for the lack of vocabulary - and the fact that there are so many memes going around with swag, yolo etc.

 

[Entermaid]

^In addition, the general population has were never been as intelligent as it is now.

For instance, we often see the romanticized 1800's. Luxury, Victorian, morality, dignity, list goes on...However, the proprietary 1800's we see in film, literature, and culture doesn't present a realistic sense of society in the 19th century England. The upper classes studied language vigorously in order to bolster their appearance of wealth and stature in society.

Today, we still compete in this social battlefield to convey our "fitness" to others, whether we are aware of it or not. Though, collectively, our society is largely literate, one could not argue such during the drafting of the U.S Constitution or Victorian Age; only 60% of Americans and Englishmen could read and write. (That doesn't even account for how well.)

Even Palestine (the state of Palestine) boasts a high 90%+ literacy rate for both men and women. A marked improvement over very few short decades. Education is a commodity, and countries have been doing nothing but increasing their investment in order to stay competitive. This is one of the effects of Capitalist globalization. [though I am not saying I do or do not holistically endorse capitalism ;)]

 

[£]

iirc there was a big fuss about students having poorer reading skills now than before; so that may well be right. The internet CAN be a matter of just playing games that aren't particularly productive or helpful to someone's education in the time they could be reading. Maybe the ease of playing games and such online has distracted kids from improving their ability to read. In my case, my English drastically improved when I was exposed to the internet, since I didn't really read much in the first place, and since I wanted to talk to people online, that involved reading what they were saying and then writing myself... when I think of just how many words I've put online... I couldn't possibly count. It's definitely in excess of one million words though, since I definitely average more than one thousand words per day and I've been around for six years. Could well be significantly more than ten million words. Would I have written that had I not had access to the internet? Nope. I've surely read more than that number of words online as well. So, the internet can be a force for good on the reading front I think. It just might distract most people?

I also recall that our mathematical results in exams have been improving? Again, possibly a beneficial side effect of the ease of playing games online, I'd guess?

In my opinion though there's FAR more important things than how skilled we are with words and numbers; and that's how good we are with each other. I think the internet is a positive force there too; if people take the time to immerse themselves in the many minds all around the world, surely we'll understand people better than we would if we were just cooped up in our local tribes! Rights for people have been coming on in leaps and bounds, as people are getting much more understanding and educated on social matters that we really should have known better about!

So yeah, in my opinion, we may have taken a small backwards step in our written ability, but I think that socially, our generation have a great ability to emphasise with others, at least, from the people I've known and what I've seen, I've come to that conclusion. There's a very very long way to go before we can be happy with humanity though. Before we can get there, the vast majority of people need to know not what to think but how. I can't stress the importance of that enough.

 

[Konishi]

Did your teacher cite some peer reviewed studies, performed a meta-analysis on those studies (to check for publication bias), and elaborate on the methodologies, estimates and standard errors (to ensure scientific based belief rather than faith based belief)? Or was your teacher just talking out of their arse? I suspect the latter.

 

[Zorogami]

I read somewhere that "our generation is not more stupid than previous ones, we just have more means to expose that stupidity", and to some extent i have to agree with that statement. People have always made stupid choices now and then, but now thanks to social media and the internet its just easier to find out how stupid exactly one can be. And i dont like that kind of generalization, because while some people are yoloing around, other young and bright minds are doing incredible and inspiring things with their lifes.
I will say though that the quality of newscasting has decreased in the last years imo

 

[Belldandy]

Out of personal experience, I find that a lot of people my own age have very mediocre vocabularies. I can use a word like "reminisce" or "intermingle" and they'll either not know what it means or simply guess at it. Guessing is OK (I tend to break words down in French to find meaning in context), but it is bothersome when I literally have to dumb myself down for these people. My mother would recommend doing so because it is only fair to them. My father and I, on the other hand, feel it's their responsibility to work on their own basic knowledge and understanding as to understand other people. Unless I'm writing an essay with a very particular audience, I will choose how I speak, and if it's not understood due to a lack of vocabulary, then the fault doesn't lie with me: it lies with the listener.

In school, I was always considered arrogant and a know-it-all for having a better vocabulary. I attribute it to reading and writing; whereas most kids had TV, I didn't and was forced to read and write for fun instead. In fact, in the future I do not believe I will have TV for my own kids because it has most certainly assisted me throughout my educational career. There's nothing on TV that you can't read in a book.

I'm definitely not for jargon, however. "Utilize" instead of "use" is really not necessary, unless the term "use" has repeated itself too often in a series of phrases. I do expect people my own age to know what "indoctrination," "paramount" and "circumvention" mean. I also expect little things, like the difference between "its" and "it's;" the difference between "their," "there" and "they're;" as well as words like "practice" and "practise" or "effect" and "affect." Very basic, elementary concepts, yet their incorrect usage is so horribly widespread that I cringe.

 

[Baby~Eevee]

I definitely don't think our generation is stupid. Every generation has had not so smart moments in the past. For example, in the past generation(s), they thought smoking was cool and wasn't bad for you. That's more damaging than texting a friend, "lololol look at dis."

I know kids who are smarter than my own mother for God's sake.

At this point, I don't believe that we can base an entire generation on a few people. Of course there will be some stupid people in the mix but there also are smart people as well.

 

[Kameken]

It takes much more to get through school these days than it did before, and it's much more of a big deal these days whether you've been through college or not. So I'd say almost definitely not.

 

[maccrash]

pretty sure there is still a semblance of a cool stigma attached to smoking cigarettes. if anything, it's moved onto weed.

our generation isn't more stupid, I don't think. pretty sure there were morons in every generation. personally, I know a lot of really smart people in my grade (a lot of my friends are); not so much book smart, but you can tell they're just intelligent people haha. it's kind of annoying how people are saying that this generation is so much dumber than previous ones, tbh.

 

[Bounsweet]

I'm sorry but LMFAO at your professor. We have 5x the amount of words in our language than we did in Shakespearean times. We also come across more information in a week's worth of the New York Times than what most people came across in a lifetime in the late 1800s. I can't source either of those, unfortunately, but I remember my career planning professor showing us an educational video with those statistics.

Anyway, I use whatever words best describe whatever I'm talking about. I don't care if I come off as pretentious if I use a word that isn't exactly common, but I feel best describes a situation. Get learnt, son.

As far as our generation, we get a pretty bad rep imo. We're often labeled the most selfish generation but surprise, surprise, the baby boomers had that reputation from their preceding generations when they were roughly our age, too.

A lot of it is probably ageism, but it is true that we are currently living in a generation that has had the most educational and technological growth than any other time in history. I do feel like that fact in itself is a factor in the growth of our generation.

I actually have high hopes for our generation, just give us another fifteen to twenty years. I feel we're currently the most sociologically advanced generation, and that things are starting to move into the right direction morally. Of course, that's subjective, though.

 

[Evanlyn]

Well, everyone's different. There's the people who don't tend to use proper spelling or grammar, and then there's the people who do. However, with texting, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and other websites of the sort, proper grammar/spelling is falling away. People just type whatever's quickest, and ignore the rules of English. And, unfortunately, that then influences the younger generation, and so forth. There is potential for it to go downhill, and I think it probably will, but there are the people who still use spelling and grammar properly. For example, there's a lot of people I've seen on here who do, so there is hope!

Also, I haven't met many young people who read a lot, which is disappointing, because reading is amazing.

I do agree with you on learning important things, but I think there has to be a certain amount of desire to learn it. I mean, if you force them to learn, then chances are they'll forget it after the test. If they want to learn it, and you teach them it, then they'll be more likely to remember.

 

[Tek]

Anyway, I use whatever words best describe whatever I'm talking about. I don't care if I come off as pretentious if I use a word that isn't exactly common, but I feel best describes a situation. Get learnt, son.

"Get learnt, son" has just been appropriated. Kthx

As far as our generation, we get a pretty bad rep imo. We're often labeled the most selfish generation but surprise, surprise, the baby boomers had that reputation from their preceding generations when they were roughly our age, too.

...

I actually have high hopes for our generation, just give us another fifteen to twenty years. I feel we're currently the most sociologically advanced generation, and that things are starting to move into the right direction morally. Of course, that's subjective, though.

From a developmental perspective, there's a perfectly logical reason that the newest generation would be the most selfish generation. Everyone basically starts off as a selfish organism, after which we learn to care for an ever-widening group of others. Our generation has had the least amount of physical time to develop advanced worldviews. Developmental growth can be accelerated, but it's generally a messy, fluid affair that progresses in fits and starts.


Another factor in the perception of our generation being a stupid one is the perennial tendency to compare the worst of 'modernity' with the best of 'antiquity' - metaphorically speaking - and then conclude that everything is only getting worse.

In fact, anytime someone says that world is only getting worse, I mentally prepare a spiel regarding the increasing intensity of both possible dignities and possible disasters that come with every new evolutionary epoch. Or something to that effect but less highbrow, depending on present company.

 

[Entermaid]

Language should be used with precision. Though, I will admit fault for not using the best, or most appropriate, diction.

Many words lose their original meaning. For instance, "this cake is exceptionally divine and decadent." What?

At a certain point, the language we use becomes nonsensical. We simply repeat phrases over and over again. This works well in a non-academic setting, expediting the time it takes to convey a thought to another person.

However, in academia, language really should be precise. Hackneyed phrases become hackneyed lines of reasoning. Overused, no critical thought.

I am sure there is plenty of that going on in this very paragraph. Though, I try my best to avoid buzzwords in my academic writing. Informally, in a non-academic setting, I don't see the problem with using hackneyed phrases and such; why should we invest effort in trying to discover new ways to phrase things when, we just need to communicate a piece of information?

Anyway, language considered "undeveloped" or "unskilled" isn't necessarily something to look down upon. Rather, I'd consider, in an informal setting, and in certain career settings, esoteric information and language can bog down the process of communication. Though, in academia, is necessary and specialized.

Thus, why different fields of study have specialized dictionaries/terminology for similar words. Just use wikipedia a few times and see "disambiguous" and then list a variety of fields of study.

Uh, back on topic. (Now I am second-guessing all of my hackneyed phrases)

The point is that language is evolving and becoming more and more understood among different cultures then any other time. The complexity and compartmentalization of diction in different academic disciplines also signifies a better understanding of shared language among professionals.

From a language standpoint, I'd say we are becoming more efficient, or smarter, for lack of a better phrase.

 

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https://www.livescience.com/37095-humans-smarter-or-dumber.html

Since IQ, or intelligence quotient, tests have been revised and standardized several times in the past 100 years, to see the Flynn effect, scientists have their volunteers take tests designed for previous generations. Flynn and his colleagues have found that all around the world, the new generations score higher on the old tests than the original test takers did.

The increases are no small matter, either — they vary by geography, but tend to be around three extra IQ points per decade.

In November 2012, Stanford University School of Medicine researcher Gerald Crabtree published two papers in the journal Trends in Genetics suggesting that humanity's intelligence peaked between 2,000 and 6,000 years ago.

Crabtree based this assertion on genetics. About 2,000 to 5,000 genes control human intelligence, he estimated. At the rate at which genetic mutations accumulate, Crabtree calculated that within the last 3,000 years, all of humanity has sustained at least two mutations harmful to these intellect-determining genes (and will sustain a couple more in another 3,000 years).

I don't know if people are more or less intelligent, but I think people are becoming more knowledgeable.

 

[Monophobia]

I think it all comes down to speed these days. Certainly "k ttyl ily" is faster than "Okay, talk to you later. I love you." especially when using an older phone. iDevice and other touch-screen users have no excuse, really. Typing on those keyboards is hardly difficult or time-consuming! I admit I do struggle when using candy-bar styled phones, though.

I'm not going to excuse those who type things like "boi" instead of "boy" because there's no real time-saving that comes from that kind of spelling.