Teenagers are less intelligent than a generation ago, claims study

The main difference between kids now and in my youth is the lack of critical thinking nowadays. Lots of young people don't see the point in trying to work something out for themselves when they can just google it. This in turn leads to them generally thinking about things in a less critical way, and accepting things they're told at face value.

I remember a few years ago teaching teenagers English and using an exercise called "half a crossword" where you give one group a crossword with half the answers filled in, and another group one with the other half filled in, and they take turns in getting the other group to explain their words to them so they can figure out what they are and complete the crossword.

Now I'd mistakenly printed the two different sets of words on opposite sides of the same sheet, so I told the two groups not to look at the opposite side of the page as that had the other set of words on it. They were at a good level of English so they understood me.

I gave them a few minutes to figure out how to explain their set of words, but before they were up, one of the groups shouted out "We're finished!" followed by the other group seconds later.
Of course, what they'd done was look at the other side of the page and fill in the missing words, never learning what any of the words meant.
I tried to explain why that was no good as they didn't get to practise speaking or learn what the words meant, but they didn't seem to get it.
They just wanted to complete the crossword.

Now it's important not to exaggerate these changes in thinking. I know that a lot of that situation with the crossword was down to the kids wanting to finish before the other group, and the simple fact that if the answers are on the other side of the sheet, teenagers will look at them, even if they're saints!

And while I do think critical and independent thought are not as strong in teenagers nowadays, they've not always been the strong points for most of them!

I also don't think you can really blame the kids, parents or society. If you live in a world where information can be accessed instantly from anywhere, critical thinking and memory are bound to take a hit.

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

The slide began with txtspk. The slope has steepened with Facebook and Twitter. We need to give our children more mind-expanding drugs. It worked fine for the Steve Jobs and Beatles of the day.

I'd rethink my stance on childless if i was allowed to give kids acid tbh.

Not surprised with all the rubbish like xfactor jedward xboxes mcdonalds iphones facebook, so alot of brain washing crap out there

it's going to be so fucking sad when I'm at the age when I'm talking about "back in my day when I was a teeenager". I'll probably cry a lot.

patwicklow wrote: »

Not surprised with all the rubbish like xfactor jedward xboxes mcdonalds iphones facebook, so alot of brain washing crap out there

Theres nothing wrong with modern technology such as xboxes or iphones using your examples.

Its the dumbing down of the world around us that has people cabbaged.

For teens now a days its cool to act the retard because lets face it all the people in the media they look up to and follow are cappers.

this thread makes me sad :-(

carbon nanotube wrote: »

with the endless crap on tv now and tabloids full of c0ck im not the least bit surprised.

music used to be great but when rustin bieber gets 100,000,000,000,000 hits on u tube you know things are seriously wrong across the entire globe

and yes, i know he is justin, i just want to be ...erm, unconventional.

And i say the same for them two irish twins with the silly hair

weemcd wrote: »

I have my doubts about that article, for a start the sample size is only 800, the article does not detail the test, and it only states the group from the 70's were tested on a "similar" test, no indication how similar the tests were.

I would take it as fact that education is slipping however.

It's cool to act dumb these days. I remember it vividly in secondary school (I am 23 now), probably my favourite saying in life is empty vessels make the most noise, because it is undeniably true. Now my generation has its fair share of dullards, but the younger you get the more difficult it is to even hear coherent complete sentences.

Very big problem is that everything is handed to them, this is in their lives at home with material possessions, but also in school, the exams I took (UK gcse's and a-levels) get easier absolutely every year and this trend will continue.

The real scare here is the 14 year olds of today will be having children and the cycle will perpetuate itself, not only with lower education but a lack of general respect and manners. When I was of a certain age I would never have said boo to anyone more than a year or two older than me for fear of a bollocking.



I am aware how old I sound saying this, but I feel it is the truth

Excellent post, best on the thread.

Although Irish, I was educated in the UK from age 8 till age 21, and spent a further 6 years working there before moving to Dublin in 1985.

Back in around 2006 I was watching a debate on falling education standards and rising exam grades in the UK (Newsnight perhaps), and it prompted me to see if I could get hold of some past-papers from when I was sitting my "O"s and "A"s in 1973/4 and 1976 respectively, and compare them to current (2006ish) papers.

A few hours later I had quite a collection.

I was absolutely gobsmacked at the massive differences in the standards. I would today easily pass subjects at GCSE in 2005/6 papers in subjects that I have never studied, but would struggle if I attempted the paper from 30-years earlier!!

"A" levels from 2005/6 were similar, or lower, standard that "O" level papers from 1974!

I see no-one here can even spell Meccano properly either. Tis shocking, I shall call Joe tomorrow !

:rolleyes: