The publishing industry is facing some daunting facts about the reading habits of Millennials–i.e., people born during the decades of the 1980s and 90s. The fact is, they don’t care much for reading. While reading books and other literature has been steadily dropping for all age groups, the drop has been most pronounced for this particular demographic. My colleagues at CSU-Pueblo and at other colleges and universities are worried that text books and academic journals will no longer hold the importance that they once held for the transmission of information and knowledge from one generation to the next. An anonymous survey of students in my Media & Society class, midway through the semester, indicated that students had read, on average, about 34% of the assigned reading. Is this cause for alarm, or is it just the new reality that we must simply accept and move on?
Before you answer, consider the perspective offered by Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University. In the book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future, Bauerlein argues that the distractions of the internet age make it especially difficult for teens and young adults to focus on the kind of knowledge that is critical to the sustenance of democratic society. Without foundational understanding of history and the arts and a working knowledge of the world of politics, economics, and science, young people will be unable to participate in, and contribute to, the advance of civilization. And how is most of this knowledge and understanding acquired?…by reading books and other documents that wrestle with these weighty issues. This is not the kind of information that one gains by perusing Wikipedia or by skimming the Cliff Notes versions of classic texts. And it is certainly not the type of conversation that happens in MySpace or on Facebook.
Okay, I’m sure that I’ve pushed more than a few of your buttons. Tell me what you think and why I shouldn’t join Bauerlein in his pessimistic assessment of the next generation.
Honestly, the stats from this blog post do not surprise me. What surprises me is how some of the people in my college classes have made it into college at all. On average there have been at least two consistent people each semester, asking to borrow a textbook from me, for a class they did not bother to buy a text for, to do a last minuet assignments or study for an exam. I wonder how these students are passing the class without reading the text, let alone not having the book. I understand that times can be hard and books can be expensive, but to get a real understanding of the book, you must purchase it and YOU MUST READ IT! Also, I understand that there can be many distractions for us millennials with our technology and social media outlets, but I have a little advice on how to get past that to be successful in college classes.
1. Buy your own textbook.
2. Go to a quite place. An area, that is not your bed, because you will be tempted to take a nap.
3. Turn your cell phone, laptop, music player, and any other distraction off! This one is important.
4. Only read one chapter at a time, You might have 3 assigned chapters, but anything more than one at a time, can give you a headache.
5. Give yourself a pat on the back. You will read your way to a good grade in the class.
Although this may be a reflection of my generation, I feel that i am well read and informed. I prefer reading a bound book than rather an ereader. I grew up reading National Geographic rather than mind numbing fashion magazines. I crave learning new things and rather get factual information than some random post on facebook. For the comment on politics, I registered to vote the day I turned 18, I also am up to date with current issues and candidates. I felt this blog post was a good read and a challenge to my generation.
From the reading on “Why Don’t Millennials Read?”, and on question of what I think and why I shouldn’t join Bauerlein in his pessimistic assessment of the next generation. I actually do think that in this day age that young people of the ages of 8-25 years, I as well am in this group and that they are very more in to technology then ever before and that am taking Bauerlein side that “Bauerlein argues that the distractions of the internet age make it especially difficult for teens and young adults to focus on the kind of knowledge that is critical to the sustenance of democratic society.” no much in this group are really reading print books anymore our worse are even using there textbooks for college courses. I for one am a product of this, from many years of using technology and not actually reading books or any print media of that matter, as well as when I went to school the education was more online to post or read and the internet. In saying all this I am in this next generation of technology and would think this is an alarm to the world not just from this but now how more and more people are staying indoors and not even talking to each other in person but on a phone by text to see when the next party is!
I find it sad that a lot of people simply just don’t read anymore. There are fewer and fewer students who read their assigned texts for class and less than that even read for fun. Which that really is a pity because people really miss out on so much for not diving into books. A whole world gets opened up to you through the written page that simply cannot be transferred to you in any other way. Reading or writing for pleasure seems to be a lost art that few care to take the time to do. I feel fortunate that I enjoy both immensely and cannot imagine my life without doing either. It is almost frightening to see others fall away from this and it will be a shame when people are just stuck with their digital screens and not soaring off into an adventure that only a book can bring.
This decrease to reading is due mainly to the fact many don’t want to take the time to read. With all our technological advances, many either get bored from reading since it is slow paced and not flashy like are instantaneous modes of technology that deliver everything instantly. Reading requires work, you have to be actively engaged with the text, absorbing and imaging what you are consuming. Students complain that they don’t have the time to read which I don’t either. But I enjoy it and make the time to read. Everyone seems to have hours to spend on Facebook or on the web. It simply comes down to what you want to spend your time on and it’s unfortunate that utilizing your imagination for several hours isn’t viewed as worthwhile anymore.
I think as time continues the percentage of people will read less and less with technology. The reason why this is because the more technology thats around make it more difficult for us to focus. Especially when the books that were reading isn’t interesting we turn our attention to something that will keep our attention like the internet. Soon there won’t be books being made because everything will be made visually. The next generation probably won’t even know what a book looks like or pick up a book because our generation is going to teach them with technology and how they can rely on it to get source of information they need. Its sad to know that as time passes everything will be technolofied books would just be extinct. Just like things fade away books will be something we talk about in history class.
The generation that has grown up with internet, cable and other various types of T.V. and the ever increasing market of technology has never seen brighter days. There are many ways that either side could argue their story but the truth is we just don’t care. People who grew up during the Depression (my grandparents) save everything, even tiny scraps of paper, because they barely had anything growing up. Now, our generation can barely wait to get rid of their slow smart phone for one that can fly and fix our hair. We have grown up knowing nothing different than ever advancing technology and are completely dependant on the idea of having several devices doing the majority of our time consuming tasks for us. We just don’t think about how we got where we are today and that is the problem with not reading books or any 100% scholarly work. We can easily Google the information or read Sparknotes without having to think twice. You could say my generation is lazy, but it is the previous generation that handed it all to us.
People born in the 1980s and 90s don’t care for reading. Mass media has been advancing throughout the years and more people are finding better ways to entertain themselves by videogames, surfing the internet and watching movies. Newspapers, magazines and books have been not as popular as electronic mass media.Reading books and other literature has been dropping for all age groups. Most teenagers don’t read unless they have to read for a school assignment. I don’t like to read and I only read if I am studying for a test or for a school assignment. I am entertained by the internet,listening to music and watching movies.If teenagers read more than used electronic mass media than I think they would be smarter and have a better vocabulary.
Chelsy
I think that the poeple in our generation that choose to abstain from reading are simply lazy and ingnorant. As stated in the many comments above reading is an essential component for one to gain knowledge as well as broaden their vocabulary and insights. Reading provides a sense of history that most werent around to live through. Without reading really no one will know where or how they got to the place that they are at now. Not engaging in reading is only handicaping our generation beacuse as Bauerlein argues, Without foundational understanding of history and the arts and a working knowledge of the world of politics, economics, and science, young people will be unable to participate in, and contribute to, the advance of civilization. How will the world continue if we are handicaped and cant do something because it has been done for us for so many years? How will we make it?
Reading for class:
There is a lot of information floating around, and we approach information in different ways. There’s information that you really only need immediately (for instance, another car stopped at the four-way-stop before you did), information you should have in your permanent memory (who legally has the right of way in the traffic scenario), and information somewhere in between (for instance, your class schedule for the semester). Immediate information is something we intake, use, and forget. In order to memorize a piece of information, it needs to be learned through some interaction with the information. A book involves the reader, and so reading can instill grammar, vocabulary, thought processes, etc.. Because we have so many sources available for storing and sharing information, it is easier to treat most information as temporary; if we forget, we can always look it up again (I love Google and ctrl+f). Why store it in our precious mental memory space when there is so much virtual memory out there? (Because we become reliant on technology, for one thing.) Especially if a student really doesn’t care about a class but wants the grade, they care more about quick access to the information that can be tested on than about the process of learning and retaining. Does that mean they’re dumber, or just pickier about what information deserves brain-space?
For some students the process of quickly obtaining info and filtering through the frenzy of the internet is a better interaction with the information than sitting down for a sustained period of time with a textbook, and so they may actually retain it better when learned through some medium other than a textbook.
Reading for fun:
A movie or a song provide instant gratification, and there are so many movies and songs out there. Reading a book is a different kind of escapism that usually requires some peace and quiet for concentration. The millennials aren’t keeping up with the Jones; they’re keeping up with each other across the globe, and the only way to do that without a time machine is through the instant gratification of new media.
Today kids don’t read they rather have it read to them in audio or seen visually in a movie. Your generation seems more content with just skimming. In high school you are taught how to skim. In today’s world there is no need to read a book cover to cover. For the few people who read for pleasure they are seen as nerds or smart people. But reading is the best way to broaden your vocabulary. We as a generation are on the go to much to sit down and read a book.
I sit here wondering to myself “where do I fit” in this battle of DUMB generations.
Being of a different generation than the “Milennials”, it’s hard for me to come to their defense on this issue. I have seen exactly what Dr. Bauerlein points out for concern when I taught and coached.
Reading is a skill! Reading is the building block for ALL OTHER skills. Reading does enhance ONEs life! Sorry, had to get that out of the way!
What is being read is important. When building a strong society it must have values, ethics,and morals in order to survive. What matters most is the content of the material. Books are the window to our past. Over time books have symbolized what a society holds true. They document our successes and failures.
However, Milennials have an advantage over my generation of book readers, instant access to information through the internet. They can search, retrieve and report on subjects faster than I can read. They can find information quicker than I can using the Dewey system. (At least I can still remember the name!) They take advantage of the technology which my generation is still trying to grasp. Oh, and they can READ what they find!
Maybe my generation could join them by calling ourselves Dumb and Dumber!
I think that there are many great points made. I think it is very obvious that our generation has a very different view of the way school is and should be taught than our parent’s generation. One argument that I have in our defense is that some new technologies simply allow you to find information more efficiently. For example some of the books that I get for my classes in college are not very well organized, or are hard to find information in. Many times I find myself searching the Internet for answers in homework. On my computer I am able to research multiple things at one time by opening more tabs on my Internet browser. This is a great advantage to looking through the extensive pages of a book for one piece of information at a time. I believe that we are not moving in a bad direction, education is going to benefit from technologies advances.
I was born in 1975 I have to date read maybe 5 books cover to cover. I learned early on in school that as long as I answered the study questions and had some bit of an idea of what the book was about I could still be successful in whatever class I had to read a book for. I do not know why this happened. I suspect it had something to do with what my 5th grade teacher had to say about reading. She claimed that anyone who did not love reading belonged in her idiot paste eating group from her first period class. I did not like being told I had to love reading, and I have never developed a need to love it. There are enough ways to explore the benefits that reading a good book can give you. I would rather listen to music, watch a great film, or visit an art museum. If I ever wanted to read it was probably to impress someone I thought was interesting, but truth be told I do not see myself developing a love for literature regardless of what I may or may not be missing.
So if this is the same felling many of my peers and those generations after me feel then at some point the need to use books to teach will go away. It would be easier to just listen to a gifted lecturer or explore concepts through discussion and discovery. It would truly be a shame if books stop being read all together, but I doubt seriously that it will happen anytime soon. Perhaps there are just too many ways to receive information that are more efficient, and books are not fast enough. I can remember the first microwave popcorn took 5 minutes to pop, and it seemed like forever. Now you can pop the average bag in less than 2 minutes and it still seems too long. Maybe books just need to pop faster.
I totally agree with the statement. I feel that technology is becoming so advance that it is taking us away from our studies. Kids now days have facebooks and twitter and that is all they want to do instead of reading there textbook. People are going to stop leaning on textbook because they don’t want to read and textbooks profits are going to go down so it is going to make the textbook either go up in price and no ones going to buy them or they are going to go away for good and then we aren’t going to get the information we need for our everyday life. Then we are going to have to get our information on line and get side tracked by the other online sources that caused this problem.
Naturally, i think the digital age plays a large rhole in the number of young readers in the US. I feel that parents are not encouraging their young ones to read as much as they should. instead of using the television as a babysitter, why not books. we could create a new standard of education if we simply turn off the television set from time to time. in this day and age we can watch anything any time we want. so the solution is to schedule time for shows and schedule alarger chunk of time for studies.
Its a sad reality but nowadays there is too much going on in the lives of students. The times are changing and now many students have school, work full-time and have children. I am one of those students and when I have a professor telling me that i need to read this and that. I usually dont have the time to and i skim through to see what i need to know in the chapters. I think that is what the majority of students do. There is so many distractions going on these days as there was going on to back when. Technology is sky rocketing and we’re out enjoying them as to back when, not everyone had a tv or cell phone or video games. They achieved what they had to do without the distractions. It is unfortunate that books can go out because I for one couldnt handle reading on online book, its hard on me and I hear from other students that they’re not a fan of it either. Guess we should’ve seen it coming…
It doesn’t surpise me the least bit that my generation doesn’t read. Yet, unlike most of my generation I enjoy reading. I believe that it depends on the subject if the student actually reads the textbook or not. For example, a chemistry student isn’t going to skim the chapter on thermo dynamics but they will skim a chapter on states of matter. “Googling” something is just easier for our generation since we grew up with the internet. We have been using search engines and have completing online research since we first learned how to use a computer. It’s just the way our generation is. We try to find the easiest and fastest way to get something done, and unfortunatly that usually doesn’t mean reading the textbook.
I will have to agree to what people have said because I have read an article similar to this before and I know that this generation particularly doesn’t like to read. I’m part of this generation and I will honestly say I don’t like to read, but that don’t stop me from using the internet as a resource as well. Especially now where pretty much anything can be found on the internet we are taking advantage of that rather than just reading a textbook.
The article, “Why don’t Millennials Read,” honestly wasn’t all that surprising to me. The actual researched number indicated that only 34% of a college level students at CSU-Pueblo, though very low, I thought was a very believable and credible statistic. The average college student, especially at a campus with a high number of commuter students, has numerous responsibilities on their plate that does not include pointless reading. Students with children, jobs, and other classes will naturally prioritize their time in order to get as much accomplished as possible, therefore reading a lengthy boring textbook, that will most likely be discussed in class the next day, takes a backburner. Also, with so many advances in technology and the use of the great little thing we call the internet, why are we still using ink and trees to learn anyway?
Reading, oh how I miss thee so.
Remembering back to elementary, they tried the best they could to get us to read. Now my brother, a first grader at a different school, is being taught more about computer technology with a lack of emphasis on reading and writing consequently. This is the era of technology and your ability to communicate only needs to extend to “lol” and “rofl”. Forget about proper spelling or actually typing the word out; using “y” and “u” will suffice now.
As a child I loved reading and writing. I still do, they are my passion, a hobby I enjoy immensely. And I feel regret knowing that my brother will never properly know the joy and thrill of opening a new book, finding the first page of text and devouring word after word of description. He will read the book possibly but it will be done via the internet if the book is not read to him.
This generation is suffering a lose it neither can be bothered with to acknowledge. Throughout time our ancestors developed ways of passing on the history of our planet, be it orally or through written word. Now you can turn on the television or internet and watch it on YouTube.
I feel sorry for the Millennials or the future generations, knowing that that form of escapism has started to disappear.
Oh reading, parting is such sweet sorrow.
Reading is something that is beneficial for the mind. It helps broaden our thoughts and gives us different aspects of life. Education wise it helps us broaden our vocabulary and teaches individuals things such as history and theories of life. The fact that this generation doesn’t makes them uneducated and disconnected from society, if someone doesn’t know their history and where they came from they cannot truly know themselves. This is damaging because if you don’t know who you are, you don’t know what you stand for and if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything which makes individuals easily persuaded.
Our generation is the digital era but it is also the over pounded with useless information and material than ever before. The pressure from school and the overwhelming assigned reading is the reason for the lack in people wanting to read. If we were not crammed reading text book after text book people would consider reading a hobby. However, since reading is the only assignment we have gotten since fourth grade it is hard to want to do pick up a book after being beaten over the head with it. Most classes ask for students to read twenty pages before each class this can add up to over two hundred pages during the week day on material that does not even interest us. So, after the cramming we need a break and that is when the digital technology comes into effect. We want to be entertained not pounded with more text. If the school system did not demand the amount of reading it does picking up a fun read would not be so difficult. It is hard to enjoy something that is so strenuous and dominant in our lives.
I think the generations mentioned in the article definitely should read more. But you cant really blame us for not wanting to read when we have the internet. it’s like asking a kid to use a rake when there’s a perfectly good leaf blower in his garage; sure the first one teaches hard work and you appreciate it more but the latter is just too much more practical. Going as far to say that we are a ‘dumber generation’ because of it is almost comical. people often times use insults to make themselves feel better and appears Bauerlein is approaching this. Maybe we are a little lazier compared to older folks but remember “All of the biggest technological inventions created by man – the airplane, the automobile, the computer – says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.”~Mark Kennedy, so i think at the end of the day our generation will be fine.
I agree that people from my generation don’t read nearly as much but they do seem to stay on top of information through other forms of media. Such as news channels and through the internet. I also don’t think reading books is dying there are new forms of technology that allow people to read such as the Kindle and the IPad which make it more assessable to read texts so obviously reading isn’t dying its evolving with the times.
I guess I am one of the few millennials that do read, and it is not the type of case where I never had a computer or a television, I just like to read. One of the major contributors to my likness of reading would be my parents reading to me when I was little. I do not think if they would have done that then I would not read as much as I do today.
I think he reason many people my age do not read is because they are distracted with other things; facebook, friends, partying, or even listening to music. Or they do not find books that they like or if they do there are not many. Also I think that once people do not read or stop reading they will not pick up the habit very easily. They will not have time or will get bored with it.
Our generation is not readers, I agree on that, and not reading will not allow us to be fully educated as our elders. I think we don’t like to read as much us the other generations do because we have so many sources out there that just help us get by. Why would we work harder than we have to when we could just look it up on the internet and read half of what we are suppose to be reading. We may not get all the information needed but we are still getting some, enough to pass at least. The internet is just such a huge source to us now that we don’t feel the need to look any further. I do think that it’s very stupid and that we are not going to get very far thinking this way. In classes I think teachers should maybe make reading quiz’s, I know that very childish but that the only way you are going to push us.
Actually, I find the news (and Bauerlein’s assessment) positive and optimistic. Apocalyptic/dystopic media is a favorite genre of mine. One of the prevalent elements in the societies presented in, say, 1984, Brave New World, the Fallout video game series, the new movie The Book of Eli, and others, is the repression of a lower-functioning proletariat by the educated minority.
The exact path to this social construction is never specified, illiteracy seems to be one of the most likely options. In 1984, the restriction and control of information was a primary concern of the government. In Brave New World, it was important, but not as direct of a concern because the drug Soma served as a means of voluntary suppression for the lower classes.
This trend to illiteracy is heartening because I know how to read, filter, process and apply information. This means that I will be a prime candidate to be a part of the oppressing minority. Literacy is a cheap, long term, quality of life insurance policy.
I think it is worth noting that it is not simply the absorption of information that makes the difference between oppressors/oppressed. The ability to reason (again, something I learned as much by experience as by reading opposing viewpoints) is equally critical. Parroting selected facts and figures (bite my head off if you wish, but I see it most often among Fox adherents) is the foundation of the repressed.
I agree that our generation is not going to reach its potential by skimming through things and not engaging in readings that are going to benefit them. In media 101 I feel that people are simply not reading because they are given what they were supposed to read in the lecture and in the notes given in class. Just because this is so doesn’t mean that everyone is not reading and engaging in other classes, maybe they just hate media. The internet is a place where people can go and get any information that they want it does not mean that they are any dumber than the person who published it. Also when I do some of my research I use Wikipedia to get a jump start, doing this just puts me in a ball park of what I want to look for. Most importantly our generation may not read like the older generations, that is because we have found ways that allow use to be just as smart without all the unnecessary work. The only thing that I feel would require a lot of reading is in the case of trying to prove facts and scientific theories wrong, then there would be a need for more than just the internet.
I have to agree with Bryon and Monique. In today’s society it seems like kids want to go go go and have these crazy scheduls to keep up with. And yes I do feel that the internet has taken over this generation because when people of this generation want to know something all they have to do is go to a certain search engine and type in what they want to know and in a matter of seconds they have what they want and need. So there is really no reason to pick up a book and read until you find what your looking for. The internet gives people instant access to whatever they want whenever they want. I was born in the 90’s and I can honestly say I hate to read and my first number one source when I need to know something is the biggest search engine “GOOGLE.” And we might be the ‘dumb generation’but our generation didn’t make computers and the internet so all the blame can’t be on us! And I think that the textbook generation (the actual book) is coming to end because even now some high schools and middle schools are going to online text books and I don’t really know if it is a good thing or a bad thing but it is the truth. I just think that people of the ‘dumb generation’ are more interested with the internet because you can do so much more and it is much faster!
I have to agree with monique. I think that the way we go about our daily lives and trying to maintain such strict schedules inhibits our ability to cram time in for reading textbooks(im not saying that its not important). The internet has been made a neccasity in recent years, especially to college students that need it to interact with many of our classes. It is much easiar and faster to google a summary of something or to watch a video about something on youtube than to take the time to read a lengthy chapter of a book . I agree that perhaps currently it is not the best way to obtain information as so many sources exist that are not truly reputable, however the conveinience at times outweighs this problem. I believe that perhaps colleges and universities need to look into the possibility of further integrating media into the curriculum to maximize its effectiveness, for example possibly videos, mp3s of lectures, ect. We are moving away from printed media. It is a reality that we can choose to fight and lose or we can adapt.
Hi Dr. Bauerlein!!! 😀
Okay, so, I suppose I am one of these millieniums or whatever, but I am unique- I was born in mid 1986, and, ever since the age of 2 (for me), we have ALWAYS had a computer in my family’s home. See, I was born in/at/on Travis Air Force Base- in northern California, about a 40 minute drive from San Fran. My dad was in the Air Force- and at the same time, was attending Oakland University majoring in Industrial Engineering- so a computer was present at all times. I loved the computer- my first memories of it were watching the After Dark Screen Savers (Flying Toasters anyone?). However, while I was fascinated with technology from my toddler years, I also was read to quite often. My mom loved to read to my younger brother and I, so I learned to read very quickly, and soon was reading books by myself- for pleasure.
So guess when I noticed a decline in my reading?
2004- when I began college.
See, what I feel is that, there are two things happening here- one, the digital age has left paper in the dust. Not, it’s not dead yet and won’t be for awhile- but a computer and the Internet offer so much more. The other? It has become harder and harder to be a college student- especially since, not only do professors expect students to read a text book, but they expect us to interact and do assignments online. Add the fact that many of us, myself included, are not only going to school, but also working- to pay our effing inevitable college bills! Oh yes, add a 20-45 minute workout, because America has an obesity epidemic, so we need to stay healthy too. And we all know that, literally, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. Every single person deserves leisure time- whether you’re a surgeon, professor, college student, police officer… to be human, we need down time to function. So while we’re working, absorbed with technology (for our own purposes), forced to use technology for school, and asked to read a text book all while maintaining a (minimal) healthy lifestyle? Puh-lease! Few, very few, can balance that well. No wonder reading books/print, for pleasure, has decreased. Not only has technology advanced and pulled us away from print text, our lives have also become more complex.
That being said, I am currently trying to balance being a server at Tea Palace II, 16 senior level credit hours, working out 5-6 times a week for 30-40 minutes, keeping house (laundry/cleaning/cooking), being a devote and loving girlfriend to my wonderful boyfriend of nearly 4 years and mother to a little Ragdoll cat named Emerson, AND reading the Twilight Saga. So, does my schedule sound like its open to do much more??? I’ll say this- 6.5 solid hours of sleep is an extreme luxury.
Just a reminder to my MCCNM 101 students…not all readers or commentators are students in this class.
Alex, it’s always nice to see you again 🙂
And to Dr. Bauerlein, thank you for the favor of your visit and your comment.
I do agree with what Alex said. Times are changing and the way kids are learning today doesn’t necessarily follow the pattern of the way kids use to learn years ago. The world has become so technilogical that people find alot of different ways to get the information they need. Also I think that there has always been kids/adults who don’t like to read.
Again, it’s tempting to agree with some of the criticisms, but to place blame for the knowledge deficits among the young squarely on the shoulders of teachers and mentors from another generation is to go too far. Early on in life, children begin to direct their own lives by deciding things for themselves, from spitting out foods they dislike while seated in a highchair, to deciding whether to drive a Ford or a Chevy. Hell, I used to believe in Santa Claus and an omnipotent super being before I stayed up really late a few Christmas Eves and later examined Earth’s creatures with a eye of suspended belief. For many, a firm belief in the former doesn’t escape an elementary school education, and it has little to do with what they’re taught in school. For many more, a rigid belief in the latter plagues their mind with fear for a lifetime, and again, it has little to do with what their taught by others. We are all auto didactic, though to varying degrees.
How people learn, indeed, what people learn is more about personal efficacy and inquisitiveness and whether these personal traits are countermanded with apathy or by a social structure that preempts the very attempt to learn. We might agree, partly, that the formal educational system is broken, or at the very least obsolete, but that is beside the point. What we’re observing with learning trends today, in my view, follows more of an evolutionary/revolutionary pattern. Your view seems to decry the abandonment of some sort of Utopian philosophy of how knowledge should rightly be imparted from generation to generation. The caricature that comes to mind is that of a snooty sort of knowledge Nazi. Though I’m sure that’s not the case. Cheers! And good luck with the book sales.
If you take a look at the book, Alex, you will find a chapter headed “The Betrayal of the Mentors.” It places the blame for knowledge deficits among the young squarely on the shoulders of the teachers and mentors of my generation.
If we’re using society’s typical measurements of intellectual capacity, then in fact the birth cohort ranging from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s is proven to be “dumber” than preceding and proceeding generations. Again, this is only if we agree to use the rubrics of SAT scores and the collection of collegiate symbols as proof of intellect.
While it’s tempting to agree with some of Bauerleine’s criticisms, his foundational premise happens to be flat wrong. His thesis, to me, seems at first glance to be nothing more than a well articulated and fatally contrived work of veiled bigotry. Yes, he is a bigot — another well read English Lit. Snobfessor, who has wasted his time staring down his nose at a generation to which he cannot relate. His thought is just a restatement of ordinary generational conflict. How unoriginal. So the question becomes not whether Millennials bother to read, but if Bauerleine’s ideas are worth reading. The irony is that he is more than willing to use the digital age/internet to peddle his wares. How does one miss such hypocrisy? Bauerleine’s problem is that he fails to recognize the fallacies endemic to the beliefs he holds. Anyhow, I am not a Millenial but have two sisters who are. Both of them possess technological savvy and discipline for multi-tasking that far outweighs mine. Similarly, I am a soon to be grad student, but am easily outwitted by a fourth-grader when it comes to putting together a PowerPoint presentation.
As to the professor’s concern that students are showing more and more disdain for reading academic material, well, just look at how their retention of said material is examined: multiple choice tests and or brief essays. How much effort does it really require to memorize just enough facts to pass a multiple guess test? And how easy it to study a professor’s idiosyncrasy to know what they want to read in an essay? Seems another question worth pondering is how much more do the shortcomings of universities and educators need to be put on display before people abandon institutional learning all together? Perhaps I’ll make this my thesis in grad school… HAHAHA