Gina Baker—Project 3

This week I’m researching the Google generation for project three. I’ve found a lot of information, and most of it isn’t positive. The majority of the articles I’ve read agree that the massive amounts of time young people are spending on the internet results in very little time spent reading print such as books or newspapers. And when teens are online, they usually aren’t learning or reading the news. Because of this, young people in America are growing increasingly apathetic to reading and are often unaware of what is happening around the world.
The world’s increased obsession with social networking, whether it be by email, cell phone, or Facebook, has gone too far. We are so consumed with constantly connecting with our “friends” through social networking that things that should be priorities, such as studying (for students, at least) and spending time with people face-to-face, only get a couple of minutes at the end of the day. And even then, chances are we don’t give those things our full attention because we’re waiting for that text message or for that person to get on Facebook chat.
I know this is certainly not true for every person born in the Google generation; I and most of my classmates enjoy reading and we keep informed about the news. But I also know most Google generation high school and college students spend most of their time online or on their cell phones and read as little as they can to get through their schoolwork.
So how can this be reversed? It’s absolutely necessary for those of us who do see a problem with this to “be the change”. We can’t control others’ actions, but we can control our own. Don’t stop reading, and don’t stop learning.