In her essay “In defence of the iGeneration,” Renee Wilson argues that today’s technology has benefitted not only the students, but also the generation as a whole. The advancement in technology allows for change, innovation and creativity that result in one of the best generations yet. Although Wilson generalizes today’s iGeneration, she succeeds in providing a compelling argument. Much of her argument is supported by scientific evidence and personal experiences that demonstrate the ability of the iGeneration to accept change and provide self-actualization.
Wilson’s use of generalizations reveals a degree of disconnect between the current iGeneration and previous generations.
Wilson refers to articles that place critical labels on the iGeneration.
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This demonstrates the ability of the generation to adapt to different circumstances and utilize resources to the best of their ability. The use of technology has created individuals that can multitask, make rapid decisions and have developed a more mature generation. Through this experience Wilson embraces the advantages of technology and disregards Levey’s interpretation of the generation. Interacting with the generation allows her to experience the life of the iGeneration and changes her perspective from when she initially started teaching. In addition, Wilson explains an experiment utilizing a marshmallow. This demonstrates the primary way to reach the iGeneration, which is through self- actualization. Her personal experiences create an informal tone that the readers can connect with on a personal level and this effectively promotes her argument. These real-life experiences allow the reader to relate to the issue personally and deepen their understanding of the argument. Through Wilson’s experiences, she gains a better understanding of the generation and can appreciate the beauty behind technology. Her change in attitude towards the generation demonstrates that a deeper understanding of the generation is necessary to appreciate the greatness of this generation. This can only be achieved through interactions with the individuals and Wilson effectively shows that through personal experiences the benefits of technology in the lives of society is
In the article, “The Perfect Name for the Next Generation of Americans,” Mary Meehan explains that generations all have distinct characteristics that influence their attraction to products, and these characteristics come from the events that those generations’ experience, which are often established in the generational names. Mary Meehan develops this by giving examples of events/characteristics in other generations’ lives, and how those events correlate to the generational name and traits they have today. Meehan’s purpose is to inform on where the generational names come from in order to show how to market products to those generations, especially the 1995-2012 generation, which at the time would be “new.” Meehan’s target audience would include
The Generational Value Clash Advances in technology have led society into a technological revolution in which recent generations have adapted, completely abandoning traditional ways of life. Sherry Turkle, describes this revolution as the “robotic moment”(Turkle), a moment in time where technology can offer what human beings simply cannot. During the robotic moment, people lose interest in authenticity and substitute it with a desire of efficiency.
The Dumbest Generation- How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under The age of 30) published by the Penguin Group in 2008 was written by Mark Bauerlein. Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory University and has previously worked as the director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. During his time as director, he also oversaw American life and culture. The Dumbest Generation is a national bestseller and has caused a “swift and judgmental response from the media” according to Bauerlein in his preface to the paperback edition of The Dumbest Generation. In The Dumbest Generation Bauerlein writes about this generation's drive to learn and how it is dissipating quickly.
Today’s generation is definitely influenced and categorized as the generation of technology. The success and failures of many members of the generation are mostly attributed to the technology advances we have today. Adolescents of parents aging from forty and above don’t seem to understand everything that technology can and will do to make life easier, or what certain things mean. The gap between the generations is prevalent and some will never see eye to eye. Technology is a huge help in today’s society and it is definitely a major part of this generation, on the other hand, technology is creating a major gap in the passing down of folk culture and many things are getting lost and not maintained in the process, which is a major problem that
A Rhetorical analysis of “Generation Velcro” In “Generation Velcro,” Dorothy Woodend discusses the lack of basic skills and knowledge that is being passed down from generation to generation, and how this could be a fundamental problem for both generation Y and the future of planet earth. Woodend, setting the tone for her article, asks the question, “[i]s this generation heading into a coming dark age with little more than the ability to update their Facebook statuses and watch YouTube, all with laces untied?” (par. 7). She contends that “[t]he inability to concentrate in a world of competing bits of information and constant multitasking have led to brains that can no longer keep up,” implying that this problem of concentration is inhibiting this newest generation’s ability to learn the skills necessary to sustain our world properly (par. 12).
In “Defense of Technology” Andrew O’Hagan talks about how technology is making life get better as time goes by, technology is improvement and improvement like never before. Every part of our daily life
The Generation of Today Today’s generation was described by Louis C.K. as “Spoiled idiots.” On The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Louis C.K. gave his opinion on the generation that grew up with internet, phones, and more modern luxuries. He complains about how we are too impatient when technology doesn’t live up to its standards and I agree with him. Today’s generation are very spoiled and take technology and other conveniences for granted. Almost everyone has access to internet today.
This topic by Renee Wilson lifts the minds of a huge percentage of people who have read her essay and that of Gregory Levey. It is seen that when comparing both topics, there is a huge controversy. These two topics talk about their opinions on the changes noticed between two generations and its positive and negative outcomes and go ahead to state if they are for or against the impact of technology on students of this generation. These writers have once been teachers before and share diverse experiences. In Renee’s essay “In Defence of the iGeneration”, the title gives the reader a clear idea of what her essay entails.
In the article, Eliana Dockterman conveys how this generation of teenagers is the tech savviest in history. Furthermore, the author goes on to proffer two different sides of an argument. Eliana Dockterman builds an argument using facts and statistics, explaining the reasoning behind the evidence, and discussing a counterargument. In some of her paragraphs, the author utilizes facts and statistics to illustrate solid evidence to support her claim.
Consequently, newer technologies and their implementation in people’s lives allow for such an immediate response they give to the user of the technology. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” Davidson discusses how she had her class at Duke try to come up with a new inventive way of using the new technology of the time, an iPod. Davidson discussed this when she stated, “we would be giving out free iPods to every member of the entering first-year class, there were no conditions. We simply asked students to dream up learning applications […] and we invited them to pitch their ideas to the faculty” (49). Giving these students free range on the application of the devices for an educational purpose, it provided them an environment where they can use their individual strengths to solve a problem at hand.
People believe technological advances are changing the public’s mind that they must avoid and restrain from using the technologies because they are destroying our experience with real life. This new movement is educating
The omnipresence of the smartphone affects adolescents in every section of the United States, regardless of social class and ethnic background. Jean Twenge established ethos when he stated,“he had been studying generational differences for 25 years and that he started when was a 22 year old doctoral student in psychology”(2). Since he has been studying different generations for many years he knows
Mark Bauerlein, author of ‘The Dumbest Generation’, argues that today’s youth has had a decline in academics due to new technology in today’s economy. In retrospect, we’re growing up in a different time than the generation before us; the world and it’s products are different as to be expected, and with them we must learn new materials than they did. Today’s generation isn’t ‘dumb’, instead we’re adjusting to the times and retaining different knowledge than the generations before us. Many older generations always thinks that the generation after theirs is ‘dumber’, and think themselves to be the superior one.
Rhetorical analysis is crucial in comprehending another author's work and also in improving one's own writing. In this paper my project is to undertake a rhetorical analysis of Time Magazine journalist Joel Stein's opinion on the problems posed but also the advantages millennials in society in his article “The Me Me Me Generation.” I will address Stein's purpose, argument, and the way he presents it to further his claim. By dissecting the structure and arrangement of his argument we will view the means to persuasion in his article. I will also analyze the author's style and use of rhetorical analogies and assumptions.
The article “The Me Me Me Generation” by Joel Stein mentions how Millennials are a self-centred generation who have been raised with many participation awards and parents who mistakenly believed that strengthening their self-esteem was they key to success rather than focusing more on strengthening up their character and skills. Stein mentions that the younger generation lives mostly through screens, whether those on phones, iPad’s, or computers, and believes someway that it is entitled to success without experiencing the rough situations in lifetime. Stein also presented studies showing that the incidence of narcissistic personality disorder among Millennials is massive. Stein concludes the article by mentioning that this has not taken him by surprise, because this began with their parents’ generation, the Baby Boomers, or known as the “Me Generation.” Millennials seek to make their own mark on the world.