Different learners: Hingston vs Us

In her article “Is It Just Us, Or Are Kids Getting Really Stupid?” Sandy Hingston argues that new technologies are counterproductive to our youths’ basic intelligence. Although Hingston does make a valid point that technology affects my generation in many ways, she has a negative tone, the language she uses is offensive and the majority of her argument is based on generalizations, not facts. For example Hingston says, “They don’t read. They can’t spell. They spend all their time playing computer games and texting and hanging out with one another on Facebook” (Hingston 1). This statement is just the author’s thought with no evidence to back it up. She is correct in noticing that the youth today depends more on technology to accomplish different things, like spell checking a paper, networking on Facebook, texting, and playing games on the internet, but I don’t understand how using technology as a resource makes my generation less intelligent than hers. Because Hingston did not grow up with same technology surrounding her she has a hard time empathizing with the youth’s attachment to technology.

I agree with Nijel when he talks about the public school system. Hingston’s son Jake is a product of public schools, which do not always have enough funding, or qualified teachers. I attended both a public and a private school and there were obvious differences. For example current events were rarely discussed at my public school because it was not in the curriculum. When I went to private school teachers devoted time to what was going on in the world whether or not it was on the syllabus; this “basic knowledge” was mandatory.

What we consider “basic” changes by generation. Knowing how many quarts in a gallon used to be basic information but now since we have resources like the Internet to find out how many quarts are in a gallon, people don’t feel the need to memorize it. I can say from my experience that I don’t know or remember a lot of basic information like my social security number, or what the date is all the time. I don’t feel the need to commit these things to memory because I have resources where all of my answers are accessible to me at the click of a button.

Hingston does make a good point about healthy relationships. She says, “rather than learn from the past, our kids just click the mouse and start the game over. What does that mean for their chances of forming lasting friendships, or marriages?”(Hingston 9). Game simulation has been becoming a more integral role in military recruitment. Kids that can desensitize themselves to killing are better candidates for the military, but what happens when kids become desensitized to dying. Will they ever truly understand the value of life?

Hingston’s concern seems genuine; she is a parent worried about the development of her child. All parents worry! Her inability to understand the changes made technologically is because she is unwilling to adapt. She doesn’t want to lose her “basic knowledge” and other things that she learned in the past. She wants to preserve what she knows instead of evolving, learning, and expanding her mind in new ways.