Techpoint: The Idiot GENERATION?

It is a common phenomenon in middle class and upper middle class households in Indian society for adoring grandparents and parents to exclaim how clever their children are: "My daughter is so smart-she can operate a computer even though she just turned four" or "my grandson is a whiz with cellphones and can change the SIM card and he is just four years old" or "my six-year-old niece sent you the email and she has just finished kindergarten." While this is true, I've also noticed the 'whiz' children's inability to interact with their fellow kids in school and their best friends seem to be the gadgets they get. I recently came across the book, The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein. In this book the author claims technology is actually turning children into helpless dependents and idiots. This made me think.

Twenty years ago, students could do mental arithmetic but today even their parents reach for the calculator on their mobile phones. Simple addition and multiplication is tough for both the parents and their children. Why is this? Are the claims made by the author of The Dumbest Generation true? Is cyber culture turning our children into idiots? What about us, the parents and elders who are responsible for this? Have we become so dependent on technology that we become helpless when we are deprived of it?

Dependency

I recently watched a man in his early 30s complain for over half an hour that the lift was not working and hence he couldn't get to the first floor. His son stood along with him and both were punching the elevator buttons and complaining to the harassed man at the reception desk who was trying to reach the maintenance guy on the mobile and get him to fix it. The man works as a design engineer for a large MNC. The reception guy finally gave up and kept apologizing for being unable to get the lift to work. But none of them thought of using the stairs. The boy stood by, observing the behavior and finally sat down and played games on his mobile. The father could have easily complained and taken the stairs and thus shown his son that there is an option if the lift doesn't work. However he just didn't think of it until the sweeper used it.

It was perplexing to watch and made me wonder if our dependency on technology has become so much that we fail to think straight if it is deprived. This might be an exceptional case, but I used this to highlight what many techies assert. Several techies claim that they don't feel normal if they don't check their email every day. However, give them a simple multiplication problem, say '89 x 155' and they cannot do it in their head!

This is the same generation who in college used to look down upon westerners, especially Americans, because they couldn't do it in their head and relied on calculators! I have heard Indian writers claim that they cannot write without a computer and they need it to think! Jotting down points using a pencil or a paper is something alien to them and many do not remember when they last put a pen or pencil to paper. But their children in school still use pen and paper to write, though they would rather do their homework on the computer and research on the net.

It is true that our dependency on gadgets is increasing which is not necessarily a bad thing. However many are losing their ability to exercise their brain and think for themselves and are becoming dependent on technology. Take for example, the inability to perform basic arithmetic operations or writing a letter instead of using templates that can be customized for various occasions. This means less use of the brain as we prefer to take the easy 'customized' way out. This does not bode well for the future as transmission of skills is lost between generations due to overdependency on technology.

Knowledge

I've noticed that in engineering courses, especially Mechanical Engineering, software has replaced T-square and compass. So, engineering drawing problems, especially when new design problems are presented, many students are unable to solve it as they are not aware of an alternative method of using paper and pencil. Several are stumped as the software doesn't have these functions. So they tried solving it by creating 3D models but failed as they didn't know the fundamentals which are not taught by the software or their latest books.

Does growing up with computers, Google, and mobile mean we don't have to think anymore as any information is just a click away? Are we turning into a society of idiots because of our overdependency on technology? This is the second question that needs to be answered. Googling for information is much easier than actually having to learn it or look it up in a book, read, analyze and verify it the old-fashioned way. While doing it the old way, we think more and information isn't served up like fast food. At least that is the claim made by those who still do it the old-fashioned way. However, does that make the rest of us idiots, especially the younger ones who haven't used libraries or spent reading and debating a topic after doing the necessary research in school?

Let us examine the facts. When we do an internet search for information, we are left with multiple and at times contrary information that can confuse us rather than make it easy for us. So, we have to evaluate the information, take what makes sense and sounds right and leave out the rest. This means we develop the ability to discern truth from falsehoods. So it is not raedy-made knowledge but our ability to get it right after getting information from multiple sources.

While this might be true, this causes a problem in transmission of knowledge. Also, isn't this how misinformation and disinformation can be spread quickly and easily by vested interests like the American government under George Bush Jr did in their run-up to the attack of Iraq? What about the various hoaxes perpetuated thanks to the net, which falsify information and spread the so-called 'knowledge'? This is very true but again a discerning mind and a debating society knows the difference. As for children, they will learn from their mistakes like we did with red marks on our essays.

Conclusion

Technology is a tool and if used rightly makes things easy and accessible to us-things which 20 years ago we wouldn't have been even dreamt possible. But, if we become overdependent on technology or become nave enough to think all information obtained using technology is true, we will become idiots and also raise the 'idiot generation'. However if we use the same technology to increase our ability to discern a debate, communicate and teach skills to a larger group of youngsters, then we will be the 'Expert Generation'. It is up to the Techie Elders to determine.

Deepa Kandaswamy
The author is the founder-moderator of the IndianWISE e-group
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in