The App Generation

Today’s youth seems to be struggling with the secondary effects of technology in and out of school.

A recent Harvard Study that led to an intriguing book (The App Generation) explains the perils and pitfalls of apps that can do just about everything.*

Their argument, and I happen to totally agree with it, is that convenience comes with a loss of critical thinking skills. Others have focused on the superficiality of thinking in comparison to deep thinking about complex questions and problems. All these issues are intertwined with the ubiquity, ease of use and extensive functionality these apps provide.

The researchers and I are not advocating you abandon your apps and smartphone, but realise that there is a price being paid, like a tax every time you choose the easier way to get something done.

One easy example for people of my generation is — “back in the good ‘ole days, I could remember hundreds of phone numbers… Now I can barely remember my own number.”

Kids today struggle to do simple arithmetic and readily confuse orders of magnitude.

The point being that technology is great, but as the world continues to shift to a “knowledge-based” economy and paradigm, those with the most advanced critical thinking skills will rise to the top and dominate their industries and will be handsomely rewarded.

Suggestion: Force yourself to THINK THROUGH THINGS a little more deeply, seek the distinctions that make a difference and ASK better questions.

Here is a list to get you started, submitted by Andrew Powell of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

* I am going to download the book on my Kindle App and speed read it on my iPhone…

This was submitted as a response to this blog post – very funny….!