apples and oranges

Before the start of the 2008 race for president, I think a lot of people in this country had given up on our generation having anything useful to contribute to society besides chat abbreviations. But now, it seems like a whole focus of the campaign coverage has been the influence of "young people." In light of this, I was surprised to stumble across a Newsweek article denouncing Generation Y for not being able to identify the significance of a sign reading "Colored Entrance" or name the largest lake in the United States (Lake Superior). Now I consider myself a fairly educated individual. I can tell you the year Robert Kennedy was assassinated, why outsourcing is a debated issue, and how to look up a book using a card catalog in a library (a lost art in my opinion). The article focuses mainly on the lack of fact memorizing, such as dates or names. But it also gives credit to young people's ability to multitask and think critically, sighting Dungeons and Dragons as actually equivalent, at least in brain power, to a story problem in algebra class.

I think the discussion should not surround whether or not the same history books are being memorized by the new generation. Young people are processing and gathering information in new ways, and that should be considered. Many people would say that technology is the cause of stupidity, or perceived lack of intelligence. But think about how many of us can use the Internet to find information with a few simple clicks, that used to take a person hours to search for? How many of us can use a cell phone responsibly to check in with our parents when we went out during high school? We can create anything from family photo albums to complex power point presentations that save money, space and time. Granted, I will be the first one to admit that technology sometimes can cause more frustration than assistance. The question should not be if it is good or bad, but whether at the end of the day a person is educated enough to contribute something to society, whether that be a new way to connect the globe or merely spout of an answer for tomorrow's episode of Jeopardy.