What has become of our nation? What has become of our people? It seems like we've become to reliant upon technology. Sure our phones are getting smarter, but are people seem to be getting dumber and dumber. Common sense is almost extinct. Anywhere you turn there are myriad acts of random stupidity that range from youtubers setting themselves on fire, to average everyday people not being able to comprehend the most basic simplistic things. Its as if a new generation was born that was sprinkled with pansy dust to be a generation of weak, whiny, idiots who rely on everything to be done for them.
I remember back when I was a kid, we were expected to have at least a little bit of common sense. Our parents could leave us in the house to go grocery shopping and say "don't open this door for anybody" and we'd obey that no questions asked. Try that now, and the kid will most likely open the door every time somebody knocks and maybe even invite them in. At what point did this disconnect begin? When did this donward spiral into senselessville start? If I had to narrow it down, I would say it is a combination of bad parenting, poor education, too much technology, and yes to a greater degree of any previous generation, the media.
Lets look at the first culprit in this diminishing of intelligence, shall we? Bad parenting. I grew up in the 80's so I had one of those old school, no nonsense moms. Thats not to say she was rude and coldhearted, because she wasn't, but she was not afraid to put her foot down. She would never let me or any of my siblings run over her like the children of today rule their parents. I honestly believe its a side effect from those good parents. I admit my generation is full of spoiled brats that went on to become the bad parents. My theory is that they felt wronged by their strict parents somehow, and decided they would be more lenient with their kids and try to have a friendship-esque relationship with them or not punish them as much. For example: when I was a kid talking back was followed by a rather authoritative "are you talking back?" or maybe even adding on more punishment. Talking back now usually results in the parents laughing and saying something along the lines of "he's a character." or "she think she grown". Okay, and thats the problem. if she thinks she's grown, but the adult and remind her that she's a child. I'm not saying beat the kid, but step up. be an adult. check the kid. Don't let your kid run over you while you just laugh it off because you want to be your kid's friend. Another factor is that people are becoming parents at a much younger age. At least when the parents of my generation had kids at a younger than usual age, they would step up and do the adult thing and take care of their kids. Most of these young parents just throw their kids on their grandparents or the schools. Which brings me to my next point of interest.
The school systems suck! Yes, I said it the schools suck, and you know why? Those same people who can't even be bothered to teach their own kids, are the teachers now, and they don't really care. They're doing it to get a check. I've lost count of how many teachers that come from my generations have literally told kids "I don't care!" and the famous "I got mine! You need to get yours!" line. Is this really who we want teaching our kids? So the already bad parents are throwing their kids to the even worse teachers, and they're just pushing them off on the computers. Teachers can't even be bothered to write up their own tests or grade papers any more. Now they have scantrons to automatically grade multiple choice questions.If they're lazy, how can they expect the kids not to be lazy? Then even if you do have a passionate teacher, the tools at their disposal sucks. I remember being in first grade in Mississippi and we got actual books that were filled with famous short stories. Now I see first graders with little pamphlet looking things printed off a computer calling them books. Education is the last thing we need to cheap out on in America. So, we have bad parents, bad schooling, what else is there to teach the kids? How about computers? Oh sweet Christmas, No!
So why can't computers and technology teach them you say? Well, the most glaring reason is technology can only teach cold hard facts not common sense, which brings me back to what i said earlier. They lack common sense. They can work a phone, a tablet, or a computer, but they can't think to go get tissue and wipe a runny nose. Every time i hear older people say that kids are getting smarter because they know how to work technology, i want to facepalm myself into a coma. We used technology when i was a kid too. Harder to figure out technology than "touch a screen and stuff happens". A monkey could figure out a smartphone if you gave him enough time, that is not a sign of intelligence. If anything its a sign of their lack of intelligence. Without a smart device to give them all the answers, you can see just how much they don't know. Everything they know comes from their technology, but thats not enough to function as a normal person. Their has to be some human being somewhere to show them how to actually behave like a person.
With nobody else around them to actually be a role model they then turn to the media. The media now has a bigger influence on not just kids, but adults as well, then its ever had on any other generation, and that really sucks, because this is also the time when the media spotlights stupidity more than it ever has before. Its almost as if the media is trying to convince people that being unintelligent, oblivious, and loud is cool, and they're buying it. I can't even pretend to understand why the most degrading, nonsensical, and downright stupid rap songs are becoming the most famous songs in our nation, but it is definitely happening. I'm not trying to demonize rap music, but now that it is full of more bafoonery than its ever had, its suddenly the music that all the young people like? Its cool to be stupid? The only reason i can think of is beacause smart devices have become their teachers and they don't want to think, they want you to think for them. As a result whatever their smartphones tell them is hip and happening, they just go with it, no matter how silly or ignorant it is. Who else do they really have for examples? Parents mostly don't care. Teachers either don't care or lack the material or even the time to teach them. That means the only two things left that has enough time to devote itself to them is the smartphones and the media. A deadly combination that leads to a society that we now see today. A society that spends money on automatic toothpaste dispensers. A society that thinks Reality TV is quality programming. A society that can't eat at a restaurant without taking a photo of it first. If we continue to follow this path we will eventually become nothing more than a society full of smart phones and dumb people.
