My colleagues and I at
Kennesaw State often remark that our students appear to be getting worse. They never seem to read anything that is
assigned and scarcely pay any attention to current events. As to history, nothing that preceded them on
earth attracts their attention.
That these developments are
not a figment of our imaginations was confirmed for me when I was introduced to
Jean Twenge’s book i-Gen. She is a professor of psychology at San Diego
State University and an active researcher on the attitudes of young folks.
The sub-title of her book
speaks volumes. It is “Why today’s
super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less
happy—and completely unprepared for adulthood—and what that means for the rest
of us.”
In case you haven’t guessed,
i-gen stands for the internet generation.
These are the high school and college age students who grew up with the
computer as a physical appendage. They
are the ones who are glued to their i-phones, i-pads, and laptops.
Once upon a time, it was
assumed that easy access to computers would make our children much smarter than
their parents. It was also assumed that
they would become more sophisticated and therefore make better choices about
how to live their lives. These
expectations have not been fulfilled.
Instead, we find
self-absorbed youngsters preening for each other electronically. Rather than engage in flesh and blood
relationships, they have buffered relationships that enable them to pretend
that they are better than they are. What
matters is how often they are “liked” and how good their photos look.
Intellectual depth is beside
the point. So is growing up. The idea is to be a “star,” who never has to
take responsibility for one’s actions. No
doubt, Bernie Sanders will make sure they have everything they want without
having to exert effort to get it.
While today’s young people
are less racist and sexist than their elders, they are also lonelier. Like almost all of us, they hope to be loved,
but are unsure of how to achieve this. Aware
of how many marriages end in divorce, they fear the consequences of getting too
close.
I teach about marriage and
the family at KSU and so I am regularly made aware of just how much my students
don’t know about the dynamics of entering a committed relationship. Unsure of who they are and how to judge others,
they look toward the future with trepidation.
This does not bode well for
their emotional health nor that of their children if they one day have them. Marriage and parenthood are for emotional
adults. Only mature humans who know how
to deal with other humans—as opposed to LED screens—can be trusted with the
guidance and protection of vulnerable progeny.
The same goes for our
political welfare. In a democracy, we
must all participate in making decisions that have an impact on others. If all we possess are the filtered realities
of the Internet, we are likely to be led astray. Sometimes first-hand experience is the only
way to sort truth from fiction.
In any event, the Internet
and social media are here to stay. They
are too valuable in a host of ways to be discarded. Nor can the young be persuaded to turn their
backs on what can be a very addicting medium.
We must therefore find a way to coexist with this monster.
As with many new
developments, it will take time to figure out the full dimensions of our
computer age. Once the novelty has worn off, we can separate the positive from
the negative more realistically. At the
moment, the Internet can still feel like magic.
After if becomes a simple fact of life, it should be easier to turn away
from.
More importantly, as its
pitfalls become better known, we can more effectively teach the young how to
use it. Today, unfortunately, it is the
immature who are leading the way.
Marriage, for example, is
not what it once was. But neither is it
as the media portray it. Perusing sexy
pictures on a computer is not the best way to assess the virtues of other
humans. Why this is so must be
taught. So must superior
alternatives. Only then will the
Internet lose some of its allure.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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