Are we really the dumbest generation?

There is a new book referring to this newest American generation as the dumbest generation. The book is a scathing portrayal of millennials, their lack of education and their reliance on technology to fill in those educational gaps. The critical assumption is that the end result will be a workforce that is full of dumb, lazy workers.

Okay, let's assume that most of these "dumb generation" arguments are true. In addition, consider there are over 70 million millennials, passing the juggernaut generation of boomers by 5 million. This young generation is also consuming an astonishing $172 billion in goods and services every year.

For all intent and purposes, it would seem as if George Romero's world of zombies is finally coming to fruition, a limitless number of brainless humans walking around consuming all they can and turning the few intelligent left into one of their ilk.

So is this indeed the "Dawn of the Dead" generation of Zombies? I would beg to differ.

How dumb can this generation really be?

This is the same generation that finally got their parent's VCRs to stop flashing 12:00 every second (When VCRs were still relevant). This new generation actually believes fully in the green revolution enough to actually do something about it (way before Al Gore jumped on the bandwagon). This is the generation that keeps producing applications that make our lives easier to manage. Ask Google, Ebay, Microsoft, AOL, and other big corporations if the inventors of YouTube, PayPal, WebMD, Napster, or Facebook are dumb; better yet, ask their accountants.

Despite their shortcomings, this newest generation to enter the workforce has actually proven to be much more goal oriented, efficient, positive, and collaborative than previous generations. Aren't those the qualities employers always talk about wanting to have from their employees?

While we should be concerned about the lack of certain soft skills of the millennial generation, let's shy away from the Chicken Little doomsday generalizations and condescending tones, and embrace all aspects of our new colleagues in the working world.

Isaiah McGee

Comments

[Andy Drish]

Isaiah - This is a book I've been meaning to read... I hear there a lot of eye opening statistics, such as, "Gen Y is six times more likely to know who the latest American Idol is than to know who the speaker of the U.S. House is."

He also speaks of our "brazen disregard of books and reading," which is way off. I know many of us Gen Yers that try to read a book every week and spend a portion of each day skimming through blogs on the internet.

I see the title as a simple marketing ploy. Gen Y is already a hot topic... just give the book a controversial title and SNAP you're going to ignite the fire of blog posts and discussion.

[Pete]

Here Here! I would also throw in that this is the generation that defined Multi-tasking. Where it is true we may not be the most physically fit generation, we are in fact the most productive and efficient generation to date. I have always hated gross generalizations.

[Pete]

Here Here! I would also throw in that this is the generation that defined Multi-tasking. Where it is true we may not be the most physically fit generation, we are in fact the most productive and efficient generation to date. I have always hated gross generalizations.