Something to chew on...

Posted: 3/4/04 at 9:41pm

Do you believe that American and Western Europeans are getting dumber every decade despite the ever present advances in technology, medicine, science, etc.?

This is raised by a PM discussion which led me to the topic of the dumbing down of all audiences--stage, film, television, radio.

Is each succeeding generation less intelligent than the generation that preceeded it? (Or is it because I live in NYC that I have this perception?)

Is reading and expanding one's personal knowledge dead or dying?

It's also depressing when one thinks of future generations. Or, are these types of question simply ones asked by each generation as it matures and looks around at those younger than itonself?

This is way too heavy, I know. UGH! But, what do you think?

Damn, let's have a drink!!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 10:03pm

Well, I think that part of it is that there is now so much more to know. There was a time when it would have been possible to "know everything" (not really, but you get my point) ...have read all the books, seen all the plays. To be well-rounded and knowledgeable in a wide variety of areas takes a lot of effort.

I think that a tendency to expect to be entertained, to have the answers spelled out, to not have to work for meaning, has been cultivated as our lives have become more cluttered. Just look at the For Dummies books....marketed as a way to become an expert at something without developing a working knowledge of the subject...

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 10:11pm

I think it comes down to the 15 minute attention span. We are making ourselves less able to stand things for long periods of time, part of the reason why I believe theatre isn't as popular as it usd to be. We want to be able to pay attention for 15 minutes anything after that we don't care about. Television shows us to do what we want, that learning really isn't that important it's having fun (MTV). I know fight against this along with most of my friends. Otherwise, one of these days we'll be a society like 1984. We won't care about anything as long as we are happy. You do need to give us credit though. There are those of us out there who care and want to learn. We realize the value of education, and the fact that work can be fun. (This random post is further proof of the dumbing down of the younger generations. It is so random. )

Updated On: 3/5/04 at 10:11 PM

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 10:35pm

Very interesting. Of course I doubt that many of the younger generation will agree with ya Bulldog. I think there's two side to this.

One side- In the past 20 -30 years, there has been so much offered to young people in the way of opportunities to better themselves in literally every aspect of life. I pray that they realize this and take their life seriously. They need to remember one thing " Life is a choice and the decisions are yours".

Other side- We live in a life filled with self-gratification and instant everything. Technology has made life so easy, yet so complex that some young people are totally cluless as to who or what they are. Words like, STRESS,MULTI-TASKING, FEAR, INDEPENDANCE, PEER PRESSURE, have taken on a new and overwhelming meaning for our young people. It's scary as hell out there!

Part of me envies the opportunities at hand for our 18-25 yr. olds and part of me is grateful that I don't have to face their challanges. "Our" challanges were tough enough to deal in the 80's, 70's, 60's. Forget about the 50's ! Most people were grounded in stable, one income families that shared everything together.

I live in both worlds- old enough to remember how it was and young enough to have sons that face today's world as young adults. No wonder I'm NUTS!

Nice topic though!

Updated On: 3/4/04 at 10:35 PM

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 10:43pm

Maybe it's just each earlier generation is getting more pretentious as they get older. Updated On: 3/4/04 at 10:43 PM

Posted: 3/5/04 at 7:14am

Or maybe smarter--so there's hope!

Updated On: 3/5/04 at 07:14 AM

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 7:17am

People do tend to get stuck in their ways as they get older. I think each generation has a lot to learn from the generations older AND younger than them. Thats why I like this board we get the mix of different generations.

[orion59]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 8:12am

I think thenadvances in technology that you mentioned are a large part of the shorter attention spans and seemingly dumber attitudes. We have the ability to do so much more in less time, we can get basic information on just about anything with a quick internet search and our lives are so much more hectic then they may have been genertions ago.

I think many people have lost the art of reading and doing painstaking research which often leads to gaining knowledge that one may not have expected to gain. A good example is that in my small town just outside Boston, budget cuts have forced the upcoming closing of our town library, a resource taht i frequently utilize. I am shocked to find how little most people under a certain age seem to care or even realize that there was a library in town. The attitude, for many, seems to be "we have the internet and it's much quicker. Who needs books? Who needs to read?

The technology that we have access to right in our homes is wonderful and I would never trade it for anything. However, I think it's helped lead to dumbing down. We are too busy so we want soundbites, quick details and information scaled down to a few sentences. Thsi short attention spn carries over into the arts...movies that don't make us think, plays that are simplistic and purely for entertainment and books that are put on the ineternet in a Cliff notes form.

I think also, that we don't put enough value on the profession of teaching. We don't pay people enough to make teaching attractive and we don't fund our schools properly.

Updated On: 3/5/04 at 08:12 AM

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 8:34am

Don't get those hopes too high -- you haven't met my parents.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 10:11am

common sense and courtesy have gone out the window

[etoile]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 12:06pm

Boy, orion59, you are so right. I find the mistaken belief that everything you want to know can be found on the internet to be mind dumbing. The only information found online is what others have placed online. And just what is the veracity of that information? And just how small a fraction of what's available in the library is available online?

You read here time and time again people asking questions about reference material for shows that can all be found at even the smallest of libraries. It's all in knowing where to look and what's available. Get thee to a library. Make friends with the Dewey decimal system. Make friends with a librarian.

Don't understand why students would come online here during their school's free periods and read post from stranges. Hover around your library's 800 section and discover a vast world of reading. Let your fingers wander through those card catalogs and discover what reference material (books, magazines, news articles, etc.) can be located. There are treasures to be found.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 12:57pm

Hey I used to work in a library! So there! I did a little bit of everything. Our branch was so small that whenever anyone needed anything I was usually the one to go help them find it. I guess you could have called me the "Reference Librarian" for our branch but at the student assistant payscale. It was a good job, I understand libraries so much better than the majority of people my age. (Except the library up here at school, they use some crazy form of dewey decimal I've never seen before.) And now back to your regular scheduled programming. I had friends who made fun of me for working at the library, but I got the last laugh when they all came in and needed to get library cards! Mwahahaha! By the way the card catalogs are now all online, you don't have the little drawers anymore. You can even reserve and renew books online.

Updated On: 3/5/04 at 12:57 PM

[orion59]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 1:40pm

Yeah, I'm all for technology and certainly use it myself a great deal but, it's sad that so many younger people who have never known life without it, seem to have lost the art of reading and exploring information to find what you want. My teenage nephew can't believe how many books I have in my house and is amazed that I actually enjoy reading. he also can't understand why, when I play video games with him, I prfere the ones that require you to solve some kind of problem or puzzel as opposed to the fast, car chase games.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 2:37pm

I'm all for technology as well, but what I hate are the books on tape. I have never listened to one myself, but in my opinion they are horrible. First of all, authors work very hard to write their books; and for what? For some celebritry to read it for everyone rather than allowing them to read and experience and interpret on their own? It also takes away from practicing your reading skills. Pretty soon Hooked on Phonics will be out of business because children won't need to learn how to read! I think it's very sad.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 3:01pm

Books on tape were a lifesaver for me. When I moved from Houston to Chicago, I had to drive 19 hours each way and make more than one trip. The books on tape forced me to concentrate on the story and the person speaking and kept me alert during those long and awful drives. I also like them on bus or train rides. I love to read, but I can't do it in a moving vehicle or I get nauseous. I only read the unabridged versions, though. I refuse to read anything that is abridged.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 5:45pm

Phonics isn't even taught it most schools anymore...I was lucky and got it when I was younger, and there are a few teachers who still sneakily teach it and don't tell the administrators. Then the administrators wonder why their the teachers students do so much better than the other students in the grade level.

[DofB5]

Posted: 3/6/04 at 9:31am

I remember reading someplace that comedy shows that use visuals for their gags don’t work anymore because half of the people watching are doing something else at the same time. For Ladies, it’s knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, etc. I’m not sure what you guys do. Anyway, it’s true because I know I can’t “just” watch a movie anymore.

I’m on line at the same time with at least 3 screens up or writing a letter or doing something. I can’t “just” ride the bus–I read a book, listen to music on my PDA, do a letter, make a list of “Things To Do”, etc.

One of the reasons I like theater is because I have to pay attention to what is happening on the stage.

It’s funny but now days, you if your only doing one thing your looked down on. A woman can’t be a “Home Maker”. Now just stop and think about those two words, “Home” “Maker” I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a more important job.

D

[orion59]

Posted: 3/6/04 at 10:25am

So right DofB5. I've always thought that it was admirable if someone stayed at home, whether it be a man or a woman, with the kids. I work with people where both of them are out persuing their careers and leaving the kids with the nanny. Of course there are households where both adults need to work in oder to pay the bills but, a lot of these people are just trying to make money for a bigger house, even though the one they have is huge, or the his and hers Range Rovers, etc.

One family I know, when they had their first child the wife gave up her well paying job to stay at home. They had to resign themselves to just one car and a smaller house than they may have liked. Now, both their children are quite intelligent and well adjusted. They are both mature beyond their ages. I can't help but attribute that to the fact that one parent stayed home and helped them with school work every day, got involved with the kids schools and knew where the kids were and what they were doing all the time.

Once gay men can marry, I think I'll stay at home and be the home maker