Why is it that I am on the fence about everything the author of The Dumbest Generation has to say? I am in the position of agreeing with him on some issues, but at the same time I cannot completely agree with other things he says. There are many issues where the teens have the brain power, they just aren't channeling their efforts toward something more constructive. Instead they are putting their efforts in to TV and video games. This does not mean they are unintelligent though.
For example there is also the fact that the youth of today is scoring better on the SAT's as a whole than any of the generations beforehand. According to the Washington Post the real dumbest generation is made up of individuals in their 40's. In 2005 teens born in 1988 scored better on the combined SAT than any of the teens born since 1956. The worst scores were from the late 1950's to the mid 1960's, mainly Americans in their upper 40's.
Even though the youth has impressive SAT scores he is right to say that the majority of teens are abusing screen time. They spend a lot of time doing things like watching TV when they could be doing more constructive things such as reading or helping out around the house, however, I do not believe that the youth of today is any dumber just because of time spent sitting in front of a screen. I know several kids who watch hours of television a day and they are very intelligent. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co. the average American watches more than 4 hours of television per day. This research includes all generations in the United States. According to the research parents watch just as much TV as their kids because they make up part of the average Americans, so I don't think screen time should even be argued about since all different generations watch excessive amounts of television.
The thing most of the youth does more than their parents is certainly video games. As far as video games go, many studies are showing that they may help improve brain activity. According to the University of Rochester in New York, gamers develop stronger visual skills and make decisions 85% faster than non gamers. Video games might not be as bad as everyone thinks. Many organizations use video game technology to train people for the jobs they will partake in the real world. For example the marines are trained with video games in order to help them survive in the line of duty.
In conclusion I believe the youth of today is smart, maybe even smarter than the generations before according to the SAT's statistics. The real problem lies in motivation and the youth using their brains for something besides watching television. Today's youth has the brain power; they just need to use their intelligence for something more constructive than watching their favorite T.V. shows.
The sources I had were The Washington Post, Self Pursuit.com, a place called 'The Science Teacher', A.C. Nielsen Co., and Electronic Gaming Monthly.