Dumbest Generation?

As the age of technology is in effect, as Americans we find the newer generations are experts at mastering a cell phone, laptop, etc. but at the same time don't know all the Presidents. I do not take exception to this fact, personally I could tell you who won the last ten World Series, but could not tell you who won the 1856 election (James Buchanan), but as a Communications major specializing in sports radio it honestly feels more important to me to learn things more important to my field. Do not get me wrong general educations classes are extremely important to being well rounded human beings because it gives us knowledge in many subjects and we need them to succeed, but calling us the dumbest generation because we go on Facebook or send a few texts in over the top. While the generation above us may think we are the dumbest generation the generation before them probably thought they were the dumbest, the older one gets the more knowledge they obtain, so they forget exactly what they knew at the age of 18 as to what they know now, I can look back and confidently say I know so much more now than I did five years ago, and most likely when we are all thirty a good majority of us will think the same as the generation below us, its just a cycle.

Face to Face?

The massively growing popularity of new social media such as texting and Facebook, leads to a generation of children who know this as the main staple of their conversations now. People feel more comfortable behind the screen of a computer, because they can say what they want and not have to worry about the consequences of it, but it may be overused. There is an overall fear that the upcoming generation will lose their social skills altogether, that they will just sit in a room and text each other or comment on one another's Facebook status, while the status is about them hanging out together they are making conversation and not actually talking to each other. The part of the video that baffled me is when the four guys were in the room playing World of Warcraft they all had their headsets on, but they were in the same room, how much work is it to turn around and speak to the other people in the room. When Lasn says were are in the age of "emoticons" I realized how many times have I started off with a "haha" or "lol" when in reality I did not even find that statement funny, I just want to give off the impression that I found it funny. The technological advances are making it difficult for children to get better at communication and it is a very sad sight to see.

Walmart Society

Day by day more and more Walmarts are appearing all over the country. This causes a major problem for all those "mom and pop" stores along the country, they make their money in their one area of expertise, where Walmart covers all of the aspects of any family's needs. The ability to buy anything from clothes to televisions makes Walmart a one stop shopping experience and leaves it unnecessary to go to these shops anymore basically putting them out of business. Americans will put this down and condemn it all they want but in the end they will still end up utilize the convenience of a Walmart, it is a very hypocritical stance and I for one am not immune to this. A community thrives among a bunch of people doing their own crafts and using that as their way to make an income but this becomes impossible as day by day more small, independent businesses see all their hard work go by the wayside just to watch more and more people make their way into a Walmart. There was an  episode of the TV show "South Park" in where a Walmart comes in drains the community dry to where they can no longer shop anywhere but Walmart, but due to the low prices they were almost magnetically attracted due to the low prices. As a society its our job to realize that shopping at Walmart is acceptable but at the same time it is good to get quality from small shops every once and awhile.