Hello everyone, I was inspired to create this post in
response to the video Anvita Konreddy referred to in a previous post named “Look
Up”. Overall, the video gives off a
message of how technology (most specifically our cell phones and social media)
are turning us into introverted robots.
It also gives a great example of how being distracted by these items we
are missing life changing opportunities.
However,
a part of this video seemed to offend me. About two minutes and twenty seconds into the
video, the narrator states that “We are a generation of idiots, smart phones
and dumb people.” After hearing those
words, I cringed. If anything this
generation is destined for so many achievements. Recently, in the school year of 2011-2012, a
record was broken. The United States
reached a magnificent rate of 81% students to accomplish high school. This is a momentous milestone for the future
in comparison of only 71% of students graduating in the years of
1995-1996. It doesn't stop here, across the nation,
teachers, colleagues, and government representatives expect the United States
to reach a whopping 90% by 2020!
What I am
mostly trying to highlight is the fact that some of the most academic and
diverse set of people are destined to run the country in the next couples of
decades. I’m unsure whether the reason that
the person who made this video mentioned this due to the fact that they are
foreign or simply unaware of the incoming intellectuals. And as for the situation regarding our “bothersome”
cell phones and social media, I agree that these objects are taking away a
chance to communicate on a personal level with others and provide unneeded
distractions.
Sources:
http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2014/0428/US-high-school-graduation-rates-hit-historic-high-video
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
I agree Valerie. Yes, our cell phones and social media affect us, but we aren't dumb because of them. All cell phones and social media do is affect our social skills. We spend more time texting people than actually talking to them. We interact less but that doesn't make us dumb. I'm glad you included the graph and proved that if anything, the upcoming generations are smarter.
ReplyDeleteWell, my parents are constantly telling me criteria only gets way harder, so that's not a factor! I think for the most part technology has been good to us, it teaches us self-control, and for me personally, I like looking back at all my social media and seeing how I've grown- in every way. I don't think we'll ever become Futurama, but we have become every heartfelt Apple commercial, even through all the negatives!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree and I also get pretty upset when other people say that technology is making us stupid. Technology is very powerful but it doesn't have a mind of its own. Technology can't "make" anyone anything. People's consequences come directly from their actions meaning that a person with bad morals will use technology to do horrible things and a person with good morals will use technology for pleasant things. Clive Thompson doesn't really mention this aspect of it in the book but I thought it was pretty important.
ReplyDeleteI used to only see the bad things that technology brings, but after reading these comments and actually thinking about it, it’s made me realize the good that comes with it as well. I agree with Jocelyn that it mostly affects our social skills, not necessarily our intellect. I mean, there has been so much things invented and discovered that benefits us and it wouldn’t have been possible without modern technology. I guess that it really depends on the way a person uses the technology and whether or not they utilize it for the greater good – kind of like what Grant said. I think that maybe we all just need to learn how to balance our time between using our cellphones/watching the television and living “life” so that technology isn’t always getting blamed for the way that we act. I think that most teenagers, myself included, just lack the self-control that Hanna brought up. Anyways, thanks for posting this Valerie, it’s made me look at things a different way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this post Valerie! All adults always tell us that our phones are just making all of us dumber which kind of hurts. Yeah maybe our social skills are changing, but that doesn't mean we are going to fail all of our classes. Technology can always help us with our education, it is just up to the user with how they use it.
ReplyDeleteConsider this point: it is not that we have been brought up by technology, but the school system has been brought down. Teachers want to get those numbers, so it’s possible that they are willing to do whatever they must to obtain those numbers (though I’m sure that Mrs. Fletcher only cares about the students). Also, a diploma is so essential to getting a job these days, schools make sure that everyone gets one. I have seen people who obviously know nothing about the subject pass a class. This is only what I have observed, and it may in fact be wrong. Though, I do think teachers should crack down harder and make sure the kids know the material.
ReplyDeleteHello Solomon, i absolutely love this point you have made. In all honesty, I have been in classes where the teacher didn't teach the WHOLE year (this is not an exaggeration because everyone who was in the class with me agreed) and every student had to teach themselves the lesson at home while an hour was wasted everyday. The teacher never checked homework, therefore no one was really motivated for practice and i feel that the entire year was wasted because when i looked back through the book at the end of the year, I didn't know how to solve any of the problems. People would often complain to this teacher of their unhelpful ways but the teacher would only get mad and unwillingly go over a problem. YES this was at Mayfair and it saddens me that some of the teachers I have had aren't even excited to teach or enjoy their job. How are students supposed to feel excited about learning when some teachers aren't enthusiastic towards teaching!?
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