Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New Generation of Cut And Paste

A couple of decades ago, the phrase cut and paste was obsolete from our vocabulary. Now, we may use it in daily conversation or we may physically use that phrase in our daily lives, from writing essays to sending e-mails to making notes. This generation has truly become dependent on technology.

As a result of our technologically advanced ways, we have criticized the younger generation about its lack of ability to spell or write properly. It seems that, while we have advanced through our means of communication, our actual way of communication (the choice of words that we make or the way that we put them together) has been left behind. Unfortunately, it seems that this was an inevitable consequence.

Literary Criticism
Young students today seem to be pampered by all of this technology. They have graphing calculators, computers that can do almost anything except walk, and they continually have earbuds or headphones stuck to their ears. While of this technology should mean that education should be improving and our knowledge should be growing, the opposite effect is actually taking place.

It makes sense that advancements in technology should make people lazier and less intelligent. For example, if a computer can do the spell check for you, doesn't it make sense to let it do that all by itself? Would you have the need to check the spelling yourself? The real question, however, may be: "Should we allow all of this technology to do things for us which we are completely capable of doing ourselves?"

Moreover, it seems that the school systems today are failing our students more and more. While we can see thousands of teenagers graduating from high school every year, we know that some of those graduates don't know how to spell simple words or finish basic math problems. Even though we can't ascribe the fault to the students alone, we know that the overall and general laziness of the younger generation has helped to create this problem.

If we want to improve the quality of our lives, we have to start teaching the younger generation today in a way that makes the most use of technology. Some colleges and universities have taken that step by using web communication and internet teaching with some success. However, if we are to really change anything, we should also start with the youngest of students. The earlier that they learn how to make positive use of technology, the better.

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