Technology the culprit of illiteracy?

After I posted in another topic that I disagreed with an ats member- that children today are dumber, I did a bit of research and much to my dismay, I found the member might be correct. Children are appearing 'dumber' these days and it is becoming a growing concern especially in the education system. I found this article.

seven.com.au...

So could the solution be so simple as just going back to the basics? I think so. I think too much technology can hinder a childs ability to actually learn for themselves. I don't think it necessarily makes children of today 'dumber' it makes them less dependant of their own resources and capabilities-which is frightening to me.
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Perhaps the whole 'agenda" is to make our generations to come so reliant on computers/technolgy that a new human species is breed overtime? Sounds absurd I know and later I can go into more detail of what I mean. For now though, what are your opinions?

Thanks for reading.
HS

Television plays a big role in the dumbing down of not only children but adults as well. People spend hours on end watching the "boobtube" when that time could be better spent reading and learning about something. To me, television is one of the biggest contributors to ignorance.

[edit on 28-9-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Television plays a big role in the dumbing down of not only children but adults as well. People spend hours on end watching the "boobtube" when that time could be better spent reading and learning about something. To me, television is one of the biggest contributors to ignorance.

[edit on 28-9-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

But I find if you give children a choice of tv or pc, they'd rather go online and play etc..perhaps before pc became a household necessity, tv played an introductory role to the pc? hmmm

Originally posted by HarpStrings

But I find if you give children a choice of tv or pc, they'd rather go online and play etc..perhaps before pc became a household necessity, tv played an introductory role to the pc? hmmm

Well,that's why I use the net only for information. I certainly do not get on it to play games and such. However, for some people,yeah, the 'net' is just as harmful. For example, I have a test that I should be studying for at 3 o'clock, instead I am on here typing words on the net. I mean, yeah,technology,at least in my opinion, is a culprit if not the culprit for ignorance.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth


Well,that's why I use the net only for information. I certainly do not get on it to play games and such. However, for some people,yeah, the 'net' is just as harmful. For example, I have a test that I should be studying for at 3 o'clock, instead I am on here typing words on the net.

I mean, yeah,technology,at least in my opinion, is a culprit if not the culprit for ignorance.

That's why I put (etc) because even I rush to the computer whenever I cannot find in my brain glossary a solution to a problem (like a bug bite) or recipe or song song lyric etc etc etc..

What I'm leaning toward is that technolgy or computer is taking the place of our brains. We aren't using our brains near as much as we had to in the past therefore what doesn't get used, accumulates dust and cobwebs. This is what is happening to the children, I believe.

Originally posted by HarpStrings
That's why I put (etc) because even I rush to the computer whenever I cannot find in my brain glossary a solution to a problem (like a bug bite) or recipe or song song lyric etc etc etc..

What I'm leaning toward is that technolgy or computer is taking the place of our brains. We aren't using our brains near as much as we had to in the past therefore what doesn't get used, accumulates dust and cobwebs. This is what is happening to the children, I believe.

Well, one of the biggest problems I see with today's children, I have no children of my own so I am speaking generally, is that the education system is just not teaching. I mean, if a student is not in he upper echelon of students they are labeled "learning disabled" and thrown into a "Resource" class that teaches them little.

Until our education has a complete overhaul, there is not going to be a perceived increase of intelligence in children. Something else that needs to be considered is that intelligence cannot be measured the same way it was 30-40 years ago. There is much more information out there and much more to keep track of; I think at times people's mind is so overwhelmed that their intelligence appears to decrease when in fact, people may be more intelligent than they were 40 years ago.

Speaking as a current student, I feel the integration of technology into my life (computers, the internet, ect.) have done quite the opposite. I've been exposed to new ideas, ways of thinking, and have used these to enhance any knowledge gathered from school (which is quite limited, in fact). As an example, any grammatical and spelling skills I have, I only possess due to time spent on the internet.

In the end, I learn more away from school than I do in school thanks to today's wonderful technology.

I wholeheartedly disagree.

Did you know Plato* was against the written word? He believed it would destroy our memory, that no-one would need to remember anything because it would be written down. Two thousand years later his claims remain unfounded.

There is no difference between reading and writing and any other forms of media that have sprung up in the last century, and thus again, these claims remain unfounded. Actually IQ's in Western countries have increased, on average, 3 points every generation, going back-to-basics would do nothing.

I would recommend the book, "Everything bad is good for you", can't remember the author, but it talks about how despite the idea that things are now dumbed-down, that co mputer games help spacial awareness, and that lowest-common-denominator TV shows have multiple plot threads and complexity far excelling anything in the past.

*Him or Aristotle, I can't remember.

If any sort of television shows are the culprit of illiteracy and the general reduction of IQ points, Today Tonight would be a front runner. Between talking about the cassinova conman of the week, neighbourhood/council squabbles and how MSG usage is a widespread epidemic (complete with ominous music and finely chopped motion-blurred footage), they're nothing but the television equivalent of a sensationalist tabloid paper.

Originally posted by HarpStrings
What I'm leaning toward is that technolgy or computer is taking the place of our brains. We aren't using our brains near as much as we had to in the past therefore what doesn't get used, accumulates dust and cobwebs. This is what is happening to the children, I believe.

I'd take a look at it from another perspective. Computers, technology, etc are tools, not replacements for our brain. We use our brains just as much as half a century ago but with the tools we have today we can do so much more for the same "mileage", if you will. Even 30 years ago, I doubt people would even have dreamed that we'd be able to use computers to model the complex interactions between organic compounds at the sub-atomic level. The computer that runs this model is the tool, you still need a brain to come up with the actual model and implement it. That's a bit of a complex example, but think of tools like Excel spreadsheets and word processors. Thanks to these, we are much more productive as people today then we were fifty years ago. We are able to stop wasting our brainpower on mundane and repetitive aspects of our work and instead focus on the idea that these tools are meant to help us build.

Besides they also make out the brain to be some sort of potential infalliable number cruncher that our educational system is preventing us from unleashing, which is simply not true. A little bit of trivia to demonstrate my point: the term "computer" was originally used as a job description in the 19th century. A computer would be someone who'd work out numerical tables such as sine tables by hand, to be used in naval navigation and other fields that make use of trigonometry. Of course since these tables were done by hand they were quite error-prone, resulting in many ships at the time being sunk because a sine value was off by a few thousandths.

[edit on 3/10/2006 by NightBlade40]

Originally posted by Kinote
Speaking as a current student, I feel the integration of technology into my life (computers, the internet, ect.) have done quite the opposite. I've been exposed to new ideas, ways of thinking, and have used these to enhance any knowledge gathered from school (which is quite limited, in fact). As an example, any grammatical and spelling skills I have, I only possess due to time spent on the internet.

In the end, I learn more away from school than I do in school thanks to today's wonderful technology.

My beef isn't so much with computers as it is with the so-called "entertainment" industry of television. As I have said previously, most Americans spend hours on end watching television when it could be better spent reading a book and learning something.

In the end, I learn more away from school than I do in school

I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortuantely for kids, schools do not really teach anymore, which is why I am a big proponent of reading. If you want tolearn, generally you have to teach yourself.

When I'm readin through these threads and I find something funny I have a little lol go through my head. This is from too much msn and textin so I agree that technology is dumbing people down. However I have a strong urge to argue that you can't really measure intelligence because everybodys intelligent in their own way. My 2 cents.

Originally posted by byhiniur
When I'm readin through these threads and I find something funny I have a little lol go through my head. This is from too much msn and textin so I agree that technology is dumbing people down. However I have a strong urge to argue that you can't really measure intelligence because everybodys intelligent in their own way. My 2 cents.

I am sorry, but when it gets to the point to where people can't even identify a major political figure from an actor, that's not too intelligent in my book.

Is that the fault of individuals or the fault of the political figures? If intelligence is the ability to name famous politicians no wonder it seems we're getting dumber.

My brother couldn't point out the majority of countries in Europe on a map, we live in England. However he seems to have a natural ability for mechanics (fixing cars, not science) that most people would take years to pick up. I know people who can't read but can turn a piece of wood into a work of art. Just because these aren't academic skills doesn't mean there not a marker of intelligence.

Maybe people are so wrapped up in the entertainment industry because the medias telling them what a crappy place the world is. I think the general antipathy towards politics is caused by people feeling that they have no influence.

Originally posted by byhiniur
Maybe people are so wrapped up in the entertainment industry because the medias telling them what a crappy place the world is.

Does it,really? I think it's just the opposite. I think they are lulling people into the idea that everything is A-ok.

As far as not being able to recognize important individuals,it is indeed a declaration of intelligence if you can. I tend to think the academically intelligent are more intelligent than those who can make a horseshoe out of iron. I mean, that's just my opinion.


However, we are living in a society that increasingly are not only unable to do things,byhiniur, they have for the most part, lost all capability of being able to think. I do blame,specifically the television industry, the media for this. We have moved from a half decently literate society to one that does good to know how to spell entering college!!

Using computers for spell check help and Mobile phone language abbriviations does not help, spell predictors are bad for the memory and are keeping the human memory of the correct spelling in the mind lose as you forget easily how it is spelt. The less you try and remember words because of help tools the worse you will be.

Speakthetruth we always choose the same post why?

[edit on 6-11-2006 by The time lord]

Originally posted by The time lord
Speak the truth we always get on the same post why?

I have no idea!!!

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Does it,really?

I think it's just the opposite. I think they are lulling people into the idea that everything is A-ok.

I see why'd think that, (we don't hear about Burma or the Sudan) but sitting there watching/reading about cock up after cock up. The Iraq/Afghan war, our public services, murderers and rapists and now the worlds gonna be frazzled in 50 years unless we change... these aren't things that fill the heart with a sense that everytings gonna be A-ok.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
As far as not being able to recognize important individuals,it is indeed a declaration of intelligence if you can. I tend to think the academically intelligent are more intelligent than those who can make a horseshoe out of iron.

I mean, that's just my opinion.

Nobody is more intelligent than anyone else, so I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. To people who think they aren't clever I would say that they just aren't trying hard enough, they are trying to advance into the wrong areas or they need to improve their self-esteem.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
However, we are living in a society that increasingly are not only unable to do things,byhiniur, they have for the most part, lost all capability of being able to think. I do blame,specifically the television industry, the media for this. We have moved from a half decently literate society to one that does good to know how to spell entering college!!

Entering college...

A poor joke I know, ah well. I agree with you, but I wouldn't blame TV. 200 years ago a man would live in a house and understand how everything in his house works. He might grow his own food or it would be localy produced. I think this has alot more to do with it. I remember a quote from a matrix documentry, it goes along the lines of 'by becoming mindless consumers we are surrendering our life force'. Do you get what I'm pointing at?

Originally posted by byhiniur

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Does it,really?

I think it's just the opposite. I think they are lulling people into the idea that everything is A-ok.

I see why'd think that, (we don't hear about Burma or the Sudan) but sitting there watching/reading about cock up after cock up. The Iraq/Afghan war, our public services, murderers and rapists and now the worlds gonna be frazzled in 50 years unless we change... these aren't things that fill the heart with a sense that everytings gonna be A-ok.

You didn't say the news, you said "entertainment" industry. There is a difference.

Here is what you said:

quote: Originally posted by byhiniur
Maybe people are so wrapped up in the entertainment industry because the medias telling them what a crappy place the world is.

Well,on second glance... I suppose I see what you are saying there...

[edit on 6-11-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 6-11-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 6-11-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]