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Mark Bauerlein, an English professor from Emory University, thinks millennials are stupid. Bauerlein is the author of "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future," which argues that Americans -- specifically those younger than 30 -- are squandering the numerous opportunities for knowledge and culture that are available today.
This finger-pointing really got to me. "Dumbest" generation? What the heck?
Bauerlein outlines the thesis of his new book in a New York Post op-ed. He writes:
For all their reputed savviness and worldliness, just about every measure of the knowledge and literacy of teens and young adults produces abysmal results. On the last National Assessment of Education Progress History and Civics exams, two-thirds of high school seniors couldn't explain a photo of a theater whose portal read: "Colored Entrance." Forty-five percent of them couldn't make sense of a sample ballot. Last month's NAEP writing scores showed only one in four high school seniors reaching proficiency...
It doesn't make sense, but the evidence is incontrovertible. Young people are tracking a course into ignorance and lassitude. The combination of opportunity and ignorance marks a paradox, and one thing explains it. It stems from the central fact of their leisure lives - ironically, the very thing claimed to boost their knowledge and sharpen their wits: the Digital Universe... The Digital Age has changed the threshold of adulthood. So caught up in social life, young Americans are aging, but not maturing. They are more adept with tools but less aware of moral meanings and historical backgrounds.
Bauerlein's campaign enraged many Gen. Yers and Gen. Y allies. They responded and initially, I was tempted to do the same. I started writing a post about how resourceful is the new smart. Although Bauerlein's Web site claims that the book is not an exercise in "inter-generational grousing," I was going to show that in fact, this is exactly what it is. These days, smarts are not about how many 19th century poems you can recite, it's about how you go about finding the answers to relevant questions. Right?
Maybe not.
For many millennials, resourcefulness trumps book smarts. That's why we think of authority in terms of what people pay attention to, not what your degree is in. We think that modern media tools like RSS feeds, blogs, search engines etc. can help us develop expertise overnight. If you start focusing on a topic, you can become an authority, and to some degree, this attitude is reinforced by the world around us. When CNN wants a media industry analyst, it wouldn't be unheard of for them to use Brian Stelter, the 2007 college grad. who started a blog about cable news.
I wanted to explain this ideology and use it to discredit Bauerlein's perspective, but I realized that it just proves his point. This belief that the right tools will give us all the answers shows that we're interested in information not knowledge. Our solution to the problem of information overload has been to master ways to navigate some of it -- not to absorb, internalize or understand any of it, as this PBS documentary shows.
Placing a lot of emphasis on resourcefulness isn't a bad thing, and Gen. Y definitely has a comparative advantage here. But are we truly resourceful if we're not mastering some of the basics about history, language etc? The quality of our answers is most certainly effected by our understanding of where to look. Maybe we need to spend more time learning where to look rather than figuring out how to do it.
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19 RESPONSES TO "MAYBE WE'RE GENERATION "WHY KNOW?""
Very good point, Mark. I think our attention spans have become drastically shorter in recent years. We also tend to value "info-bites" rather than the complete history, context and details.
There's no question the digital age has groomed many of us to think like this. Not to mention the news outlets, talk shows and other fast-paced media hubs.
I usually shoot for 2 books a month (in addition to all the other online reading and a full-time job). But the question then becomes - which is more valuable? Knowing only the most salient information, or understanding the complete picture in every case?
You could certainly make an argument both ways, but I'd probably lean towards your side 90% of the time. Thanks for jumping in to the conversation.
Think about it! Mark B. obviously wanted to get the point across to generation he was addressing; otherwise, he could have run a press release for newsprint.... think about it! He may not be saying anything anyone wants to hear (Gen Xer here, I remember football players graduating without being able to read), but he's smart enough to get his point read.
I appreciate all the thoughtful comments!
Ryan K, I'm with you in terms of the complexity of why we are the way we are and that's one of my biggest issues with Bauerlein. He's not presenting his argument in terms of some of the systemic problems that are making us "dumb." Instead, he just calls us idiots and seems to accuse us of squandering good opportunities. Yes, we have some responsibility here, but it would be more useful to discuss it in terms of the bigger picture and other influences.
Torbjorn, great point about the younger and older end of Gen. Y. I think there is a huge difference between being introduced to Web 2.0 at age 12 versus age 20...
Kristen, I think maybe our generation writes more but we aren't focused as much on grammar, spelling, or sentence structure. We are instead interested in sharing our ideas and getting our point across.
What I do admire about Mark is it sounds like he answers his emails. I like him better already.
I've been emailing back and forth with Mark Bauerlein ever since the Boston Globe article came out. I suppose that's a pretty typical Gen Y move - his email is pretty easy to find online (he's an Emory professor) and why should I get angry in a comment thread when I can accuse him to his face? It's much more personal that way.
He seems like a decent guy, even though he's fairly wrong and depending on biased research studies.
He's an English professor though, and he's really hung up on one thing in particular: the way our generation writes. (He's also hung up on the fact that we "don't read" and that we're addicted to the net, but those are of lesser importance.) What it comes down to at the bottom is that business are adding remedial writing programs for entry-level workers to their training process.
I think that many members of our generation are actually doing more writing, not less, and should therefore be better at it. My suggestion was that either these people aren't hiring English majors, or they're not paying enough to attract top recruits. But what do you guys think about this shift?
I think the GenerationXpert has got it... I think that things are changing so it's not necessary to retain all information, but it is more important to know what to do with the information we have such easy access to. Analytical skills are so much more important than just knowing a whole bunch of stuff.
...ha, and Tim F. might be right...only 'might be'.
Great post Jaclyn. I agree with some of the Gen X'ers above that Gen Y is acting the same way all young people from all generations acted before them. We need a little time to grow up, and we are dealing with a fast-changing world. All the tools we have now are overwhelming, and each one seems to give us a different channel with which to communicate information.
I think one of the biggest reasons that generational issues are so huge right now is that Gen Y communicates on very different channels than some Gen X'ers and especially Boomers. We send emails, chat messages, and text each other all day, and we understand what warrants an email vs. a chat message, or what warrants a text message vs. a phone call. But other generations either use these channels differently, don't use them, or don't know how to use them. And Gen Y doesn't like using traditional forms of communication, like leaving voicemails for urgent requests (or maybe that's just me).
It makes communication very difficult when we can't agree on the rules for each channel.
My brother and I just taught our mom how to text message us instead of call us with short questions she needs answered right away. The first time she texted me it was about 10 lines long in all caps. We're still working on it =D
I bet you this guy couldn't operate an iPod or Tivo and would have no idea how to advance his career if he were our age. He wouldn't survive in our world. He should spend more time criticizing the schools for teaching to the lowest common denominator, instead of bashing the product of a system his generation has ruined.
There is no doubt that we must master ways to navigate through the junk. With so much information available at the click of a mouse, we need to be able to quickly decipher the legitimate from the BS. Gen Y is the first generation who has had to deal with this problem and we are trying to solve the problem in a collective and very public way.
Also, I would argue that we are a very cultured generation and we are interested in the basics like history, literature etc. The difference is we rely on our peers to interpret this information and give their input, then we leave a comment with our thoughts, and the next thing you know we just had an interactive, thoughtful conversation where everyone learned a lot by doing more than just reading or studying.
Of course, we have weaknesses and many people do get lost in the clutter of information overload, but I see it as our way of figuring out how to deal with a uniquely Gen Y problem, that will now be a problem for generations to come.
Really good read, Jaclyn. While I agree with some points responders came up with, like Ryan (above) pointing out that we have a lot of junk to navigate through - and some lack of confidence and attention will be a unique generational problem.
I must agree that the lower sector of Gen Y - like the author stated, high-school seniors - are a different, spacier breed. I think if anything, the gap between 19 and 25 is widening significantly. And anyway, is the group entering college and university today REALLY Gen Y? There are a very small number of that age-group comparable to Gen Y already in the workforce.
In the end, I can't remember or have known how 25 year olds saw me when I was 19. But that group are Xers now, so leave me out of the high-school senior group.
Love this post Jaclyn.
The publishing of the book doesn't surprise me - it just further validates that generational differences are having a huge impact on our ability to be good team players, don't you think? For all the talks about the differences between generations in the workforce over the last two years, for many, it's only served to make them dig their heels in more and try to justify why their generation is the best/right.
Ironically, I did a presentation on this yesterday to a team of managers. We discussed the four very different career realities possessed by the working generations. When it came time to do some exercises in coaching people from other generations, they admitted, "This is hard; we'd rather just force them to agree with what we have to say." Yet, after they completed the exercises and practiced leveraging generational differences in communications, the results were immediate and they room was notably more at ease with the idea of communicating with those not from their generation.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope we turn a corner soon and stop arguing the obvious fact that each generation is different. As was pointed out in one of the posts above, only then can start figuring out how to use it to our advantage.
Great Post. I think it further confirms for me that I lean more toward a Gen X perspective and worldview than Gen Y. For me, it has always been about the pursuit of knowledge, or at least I like to think so.
Your thoughts on resourcefulness confirm a lot of the advice being given on this website and others. The advice always seems to lean toward what I would call "procedural" multitasking/timesaving/work-life balancing etc rather than the "substantives" of becoming an expert in your chosen field. I think the advice needs to be directed at both this procedural advice (which has its place, obviously) as well as substantive advice.
Multitasking, good time management and technical or media savvy can only take you so far if you suck at your job.
I'd agree we're not nearly as cultured, don't have as solid a grasp on history, and aren't the most literarily sound generation. But is that really the product of digitization, or does it speak to something greater?
Personally I think it's a combination of factors: Decline in the quality of education, reprioritization of values, a newfound emphasis on problem solving rather than reciting knowledge, and so on.
Our culture has also shifted. Many in this generation tend to care more about celebs, iPhones, Starbucks, Facebook and Grey's Anatomy than we do about philosophy, science, religion or history. Of course this isn't always the case, but we now have an infinite amount of distractions to keep us from pursuing these things.
And perhaps that's where the digital age is to blame. Not in the "dumbing down" of America's youth, but in its sheer power to distract us from the things that really matter.
In our quest for information we are overloaded daily. I get 500+ RSS feeds everyday. Will I retain most of that? No, probably not.
When we jump on Google, do we get the answers we are looking for? Generally, yes.
When anyone of us were in school, be it X'ers, Boomers and Gen-Y, when you pulled an all nighter studying for an art history exam, did you recall all of that information days, weeks, months later? I bet you didn't.
Just because everyone now has the power of instant information, does make us dumb. When we do not seek out information at all, then come at us and make your point!
as your quote from socrates says above this has been a consistant view and will continue to be a view. Kurt Hanh (founder of Outward Bound) stated it as the 7 Declines of modern youth. Gen-Y is intellegent and as our wave moves across time their will continue to be the bell curve of intellegence. Relax and allow it to happen read the books that say gen y is stupid and learn the arguments. Be informed and knowledgeable.
Great post, Jaclyn. The Boston Globe online did a slideshow of his points and the whole thing enraged me, just as it did you.
I earned a BA in History and I apply it a lot in everyday life. History is a field that gives you an edge in critical thinking, writing, researching, and organizing information, not to mention a huge overview of political, economic, social and cultural mores across the globe. I remember most of what I learned, and I use it. People who grouse about "kids my age" not knowing anything piss me off, because they rely on a lot of generalizations without digging into the true makeup of the generation.
Okay, so I can see how this could really get to you. However, what's happening here is that the world is changing significantly, and as it has been throughout history, the youngest generation usually leads that change.
Here's the thing: There are things that Gen Y does not do as well as previous generations at their age. Cursive, for instance. Or research using printed materials versus electronic materials. It is true. However, look at it this way: How many of us speak in 19th-Century English? I am sure what we speak now was considered bad English back then. How many of us have handwriting like those on the Declaration of Independence? Shoot, Gen Xers don't even have handwriting as good as Boomers, because we didn't have handwriting as a subject like they did.
Generation Y has replacement skills. They're not the dumbest generation. They are just the youngest generation.
"The Children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for adults, and love to talk rather than work or exercise. They no longer rise when adults enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter in front of company, gobble down food at the table and intimidate their teachers."
--Socrates (469-399 B. C.)
I hope all of you check out the book, even if only by going into the library stacks. It contains research compiled over several years from public agencies, private foundations, academic centers, and business organizations. Take a look at the National Survey of Student Engagement and see how entering freshman spend their time. For instance, three-quarters of them read 4 books or less on their own in a year's time, and one in four read no books whatsoever. Remember that these are college students, the brightest among you. For all the wondrous info on the internet, books remain the best way to acquire knowledge (not just retrieve information). But go to any library and count the number of kids at a computer terminal vs. the number in the stacks.
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