Group C- The Idea of Our Generation's Intelligence

Generation Y, or Millenials as I like to refer to them, have been the subject of much scrutiny over the past decade or so from many people in the older generations, especially people in academia who are teaching these kids as they come to college. We here it all the time, things like "They are horrible at writing," or "they don't have any attention spans," things of that nature.  I do think some of the criticisms are valid, but also feel that often times what is overlooked is the fact that our generation simply values different fields of knowledge and learns in a different way.

We are in a world of technology, as we know, and it just so happened that the millenials happened to grow up at the same time as things like cell phones, laptops, etc. were growing up too. Due to this, the way in which they process information is drastically different from our parents generation. Instead of reading a print newspaper, they are on Reddit to get their news. Instead of reading a paper book, they have a kindle to do that on. Even things like Sparknotes or Cliffnotes have allowed students to not have to read entire books. While some will complain that this is dumbing down our generation, I see it as more of just the time we are living in.

 Technology has made everything instant, and people are able to get more done because of their ability to instantly communicate or gain information by using a cell phone or the internet. It's not as if we aren't producing smart people either. The people who are inventing the top Iphone Apps, or the next big computer program aren't in their 50's, they are in their 20's or even in some cases teenage years. So it's not that our generation is necessarily dumber, they just value learning different things. They'd rather spend their time designing the next big app than reading an 800 page novel. While it is sad to see a devaluing of writing, something I think is a very important skill, I still feel positive about my generation and what we are capable of creating.


How do you guys feel though? Is it okay that our Gen Y is focusing on learning other things and not reading and writing the same way as their parents used to, or is this really a big problem that will pose significant issue as our generation continues to grow and makes our way through the adult world?