Right in the introduction, Bauerlein admits the very limited scope of the book by saying that he does not take demographics into account. This claim that race, political affiliation, and other factors do not affect overall intelligence already makes this book a disaster. I am sure that certain groups score better than others, but the solution, as I will explain later, is to blame not the Internet and the youth culture, but the American educational system itself.

The majority of the book is dedicated not to attack the Internet and the media, but to present a ton of statistics on how American youth today are not as intelligent as they should be and not involved in history or politics or in school. The statistics are ambiguous or have been heavily skewed to fit Bauerlein’s intentions. (Having taken statistics in school, I know.) He even has the nerve to compare different age groups on certain factors when in fact the data makes every age group look bad, not just the youth. In addition, the anecdotal evidence has been used to make gross generalizations, and some of the evidence even contradicts Bauerlein’s claims, but he ignores them without any evidence to disprove them, making popular culture look better than what he wants it to be.

Nevertheless, while I do not agree that the youth are less intelligent than the previous generation, I do agree that there are not enough youth involved in politics. When you compare the United States’ educational system to that of other countries, the United States is really lagging behind. Voter turnout for 18 to 29-year-olds in the United States is incredibly low and the fact that the youth are not eligible for higher positions in government (especially the federal government) is unfortunate as well. I hope that the increased intelligence of the youth today, caused by a growing culture, will increase voter turnout and that they will become the driving force that is leading toward a better future.

When Bauerlein does attack the youth culture, however, the argument is not that much better. The words Grand Theft Auto and MySpace have been used throughout the book as an attempt to generalize and downplay video games and social networking. (Who uses MySpace anymore?) But this time, some of the statistics actually contain a few essential truths. For example, some statistics show that the paperless classroom will never successfully come to fruition, and I can see why. In the introduction to Physics of the Future, Kaku explains the Cave Man Principle, which says that the new technology and advancements will not completely replace the desires of our ancestors. This explains numerous predictions in our society that have been utterly false, such as why e-books will not replace actual books or why the Internet will not replace radio or television. This also means that the Internet will not entirely replace schools as the place for learning. If Bauerlein really wants teens to learn in traditional schools, then the problem is with the schools, not the Internet. As the research in the book suggests, the best way for kids to learn in school is to make it just as interesting as (in fact, even more interesting than) the youth culture they are already thriving in. It does not have to directly incorporate popular culture, but enough to get them interested in old tradition and to apply this knowledge to their daily lives, popular culture included, and everyone has a responsibility to set it in motion. Because to the youth, popular culture is the new tradition, one big learning tool in and of itself, and there is nothing to stop the progression of society that strives to make itself better and sticks to it.

The subtitle of the book, Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30, is even more laughable. (Are you f***ing kidding me? I hope that is not another one of your big generalizations.) Combined with the claim that blogs are “self-aggrandizing” or promote narcissism, I am going to counter by answering the question: why should you trust this review, especially when it is written by an 18-year-old like me? Because I am the complete opposite of the majority of teens that Bauerlein claims they are. I read the entire book word for word. Bauerlein claims that “the genuine significance of the Web to a 17-year-old mind [is] not the universe of knowledge brought to their fingertips, but an instrument of nonstop peer contact,” but for me, it is the other way around (134). I listen to jazz as well as rock, especially the “art music” kind. I created this blog to express myself in ways I could not have done before; I do not see why that is wrong or even what makes it narcissistic. Sure, I talk about things that are happening in popular culture (anime and video games included), but I also talk about philosophy and [plan to talk about] politics as well. And as much as I hate the corruption in the American political system right now, I will vote every year. Why? Because I feel it is my (and everyone’s) duty to correct the wrongs of society, whatever they may be. And the massive amount of evidence supporting the Internet and the youth culture says it all. Video games have been shown numerous times to have more benefits than risks and have already been applied into numerous academic fields. The Internet is a place where information roams freely, where people can learn about not just the world around them, but also themselves. Also, from Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Future, information will soon replace material wealth as the backbone of the economy in the coming decades. Social media, a major sector of the Internet, is connecting people, not disconnecting them, which is the reason why I joined Facebook in the first place! It is possible to be immersed in popular culture while being knowledgable of what is going on around me, and I am at my best doing just that. I and many other content creators are already living examples of how we can contribute to the Internet and how the Internet can benefit us. Goddamnit, why can there not be any more smart people like me?

I apologize if the previous paragraph was narcissistic, but what else can I do to prove a point? That is definitely not the point of the rest of my blog and there is no reason to be egotistical here anyway.

In the end, it all boils down to sensationalism in the news media when it comes to advancements in technology and the generational gap. New inventions at its early stages (in this case, the Internet, video games, social media, etc.) will always receive criticism by elders and will take time to get used to an advancing society. However, this always leaves room in our brains for better learning and developing them to do even more incredible things in the future. Even then, I do not see how anyone can agree that the Internet is making anyone stupid. This book is simply just a way for adults to blame the “corrupt” youth culture for their problems as they have done for decades already. This finger-pointing and hatred is quickly getting old (no pun intended) and while there is some truth to this book, it is overall alarmist and distracts from the real problems in our society. There is no use singling out a particular age group for having low intelligence when everyone else, especially political leaders today, is just as dumb (or even more so)! No matter what age you are, do not read this book. Or read it if you want . . . for the laughs it provides when you see the fallacies for yourself.

2 out of 5 stars

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Jeez, I can go on forever with this review. There are so many points in the book I can refute, it is unbelievable. I have a lot of my own research to back it up (one example below), but I hope this review sheds some light on some very important subject matter. :)

Simply put, more funding in public education will solve all our problems. There is no question about it.

UPDATE 1: Okay, I will admit that I love “Jaywalking” as much as Bauerlein does, but this segment proves my point and not his, that the majority of people of all ages know neither news nor pop culture enough to fully understand their world. Sad, really.

UPDATE 2: Here are better words to describe the need for education reform:

So what am I reading? Today, I’m going to be continue reading Grave Secrets, the fifth in the Bones/Temperance Brennan series, by Kathy Reichs. However, it wasn’t my first choice. My first choice was The Fourth Assassin, the fourth Omar Yussef mystery, by Matt Beynon Rees. Unfortunately, I left it at work at the library on Friday, and now will make the second book this week that I wanted to read but didn’t get to read when I wanted to read because of leaving it at the library. The first was Road to Ruin, the 11th in the Dortmunder series, by Donald E. Westlake, which earlier in the week I accidentally returned with another pile of books and then had to check out again the next day.

What might I be reading in the future? Well, here’s a photo of the books, including the Reichs I just mentioned, and the movie I picked up from the library this week:

In addition to Grave Secrets, I have the next one in the series, Bare Bones. I’m also still making my way through the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, if only on my own terms — in that I’m reading what I want to read and skipping the books that I don’t want to read (a.k.a. Tommy and Tuppence novels). Next up are Murder in Retrospect (a.k.a. Five Little Pigs) and The Moving Finger (a.k.a. The Case of the Moving Finger). I also have two others, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, and The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30) by Mark Bauerlein. Naturally, “hanging in” young adult book-related circles on Twitter, I  have heard of the Selznick book, and that sparked my interest. As for the Bauerlein book, I doubt I’ll get to it because of all the time I spend on the Interwebz.

The movie, I would hope, needs no introduction: Fiddler on the Roof. For some reason, for the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a snippet of one of the songs stuck in the grooves of my brain. Which song? Well, of course, I’m going to share it with you as today’s Moment of Zen so you can get it stuck in your brain too. Enjoy!

Peace out, y’all. Holla.