Brains for Dummies?
Is this the dumbest generation?
Is the revolution in texting, facebook and twitter making young people dumb? Do they need to get back into classic media and interaction to restore their brain power?
A good friend of mine, Seth Barnes, is a smart, tech-forward guy who has worked with young people all his life recently posted on his blog, Living in a Radical World, the thesis, Facebook is killing us softly. In reviewing the book, The Dumbest Generation, Don’t Trust Anyone Under Thirty, by Mark Bauerlein, Seth echoes the author’s position that this technology is having an adverse effect on the minds of young people.
Quoting Bauerlein…
[His] thesis is that young people spend so much time on sites like Facebook that they are losing the capacity to sit quietly in a room by themselves and read a book. As a consequence, they are losing the capacity to think deeply about issues.
Seth’s own comments…
This is not a question of Facebook/Twitter/Cellphones being good or bad. They are wonderful communication tools. It’s a question of “do you over-use them, and does that shape the way you think?” Because I love young people, I’m concerned about this phenomenon.
Seth received 25 passionate comments on both sides of the issue.
A pastor, Dan Waits, who also works with young people, had some good points of disagreement…
I find all this talk about facebook to be more than just a bit alarmist in nature… spoken whenever something new is introduced into our psyche, culture, & way of doing things.
I’m a 20something pastor that uses Facebook & texting as a major communication tool for our ministry… Facebook / texting is a significant component in the building of our sense of community… setting up meeting times for supper, coffee, or hanging, or just for finding out how everyone is doing.
I don’t think that Facebook/text messaging shorthand has corrupted people’s writing skills anymore than anything else in our culture. I was full time in music ministry for 30 years. Young adult writing skills were always pretty lame during that whole time, long before Facebook & texting were ever thought of.
So the question is whether this medium is dumbing people down, or does every generation viewed the next as dumber? I tend to agree with Dan, that it’s not harming kids. What do you think?
1 comment
I read Seth Barnes daily blog and have read all the comments from “Facebook is killing us softly”. I really believe its important to have the balance in our lives. My balance is Jesus. When I take the time with Him, everything works out… when I don’t its chaos.
I am 40 something and feel I got a pretty good education. I believe the girls back then weren’t given the same education the guys got. But we all had the same books. We need to use the tools we have, right! I do have a Facebook acct. and actually Seth is my friend on it (go figure!) I can tell you I enjoy it as a useful tool of communication. Being able to walk away and keep my schedule it important and part of that balance I was talking about. Work before play! Then we all enjoy the day!