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How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30)
Tarcher
May 2008
On Sale: May 15, 2008
272 pages
ISBN: 1585426393
EAN: 9781585426393
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
This shocking, lively exposure of the intellectual vacuity
of today’s under thirty set reveals the disturbing and,
ultimately, incontrovertible truth: cyberculture is turning
us into a nation of know-nothings. Can a nation continue to enjoy political and economic
predominance if its citizens refuse to grow up? For decades, concern has been brewing about the dumbed-down
popular culture available to young people and the impact it
has on their futures. At the dawn of the digital age, many
believed they saw a hopeful answer: The Internet, e-mail,
blogs, and interactive and hyper-realistic video games
promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and
intellectually sophisticated children. The terms
“information superhighway” and “knowledge economy” entered
the lexicon, and we assumed that teens would use their
knowledge and understanding of technology to set themselves
apart as the vanguards of this new digital era. That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen.
The technology that was supposed to make young adults more
astute, diversify their tastes, and improve their verbal
skills has had the opposite effect. According to recent
reports, most young people in the United States do not read
literature, visit museums, or vote. They cannot explain
basic scientific methods, recount basic American history,
name their local political representatives, or locate Iraq
or Israel on a map. The Dumbest Generation is a startling
examination of the intellectual life of young adults and a
timely warning of its consequences for American culture and
democracy. Drawing upon exhaustive research, personal anecdotes, and
historical and social analysis, Mark Bauerline presents an
uncompromisingly realistic portrait of the young American
mind at this critical juncture, and lays out a compelling
vision of how we might address its deficiencies.
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