Introduction
Ever since the agrarian, industrial and scientific revolution, the world has been experiencing a lot of changes that have affected the lifestyles, cultures and beliefs of every society in the world. It is due to these changes that people started to fight for human rights, democracy, equality and so on.
Ever since its early days of establishment, USA has been known to be a nation that contains intellectual and rational individuals. These individuals conatin the knowledge and skills required to make a great nation. As a result, the nation has been renowned for its excellence. The main basis of this excellence has been the sustainable education system of the country coupled with favourable social structures that aimed at developing the cognitive capacity of individuals to a great level.
However, with the rapid advancement in technology that has been experienced in the last few decades, the level of rationalism and intellectuality of the people of the United States has become questionable. Is the country losing its intellectual and rational ways? This is the question that many people keep on asking themselves.
Some believe that the citizens of the country have become ignorant while others believe that the country is in the middle of a literacy revolution. These claims have come about due to the changes that are being experienced in the print and visual media. Initially, people used to utilize a lot of print materials. Students used to read poems, books, novels, journals and so on within and outside the class.
This trend has however changed and now individuals are doing more of watching than reading. At the same time, the internet, especially the social media has changed the manner in which individuals interact, think and write. Due to this fact, a study should be conducted to determine the effects of this advancement of the intellectual capacity of the nation. This essay therefore explores the effects of these developments on the intellectual and rationality capacity of individuals of the United States.
Ignorance or New Literacy
Severalarguments have been raised pertaining to whether Americans are becoming ignorant to literacy or they are undergoing a great revolution. Several scholars have come up with their theories and opinions pertaining the issue. In her book, The Age of American Unreason, Susan Jocoby states that Americans have changed the manner in which they think and perceive things (Jacoby 1).
According to her, much of the problems that the nation is facing have been due to the ignorance that has risen from the public. This ignorance has come about due to the changes in that the society is experiencing. There has been a rapid decline in the use of print media by the public for the last three or so decades (Jacoby 5).
People are not reading as much as they used to back in the day. Instead, the spend much of their time watching television, playing video games and surfing the internet. The number of 17 year olds who read nothing other than their course material has doubled between 1984 and 2004 (Jacoby 6). Due to this fact therefore, these individuals do not have the relevant knowledge and skills that are required to build and sustain a great nation. Susan therefore blames technology for the problems that the nation is currently facing.
On the other hand, Thompson and McKean believe that the nation is undergoing an intellectual revolution. According to them, the intensity of this change is so great that it will result to the creation of more rational and intellectual individuals that the nation had never had before. All this can be attributed to the introduction of new technology. Through the use of the internet and social media, individuals have had the chance to read and write about a lot of issues (Thompson 3).
This has in turn developed them into great writers. At the same time, social media and networks such as tweeter and facebook has given them a chance to easily associate and socialize with one another. This has made it easier for them to share information and ideas. These changes have thus made them understand life in a better perspective by being able to define the problem and come up with solutions (McKean 5).
Personally, I tend to believe that technology has increased the thinking capacity of individuals. It has enable people to view issues from a different perspective. At the same time, the flow of information and ideas is much easier. People are now exposed to a lot of things than before.
This has made them to be more intellectual and rational individuals. The state should therefore put much emphasis on the use of technology. A lot of studies and research should therefore be conducted to ensure that technology is used in a way that will bring about positive change to the people of the United States.
Conclusion
An intellectual revolution is going on in the United States. This change aims at producing rational individuals who are more learned and ready to face the challenges of life. This change has resulted to a decline in the utilization of print media and an increase in the use of visual media. The nation is therefore not suffering from any intellectual problem.
Works Cited
Jacoby, Susan. How Dumb can we Get?Incurable-Insomniatic. Web.
McKean, Erin. Redefining Definitions. NYTimes.com. Web.
Thompson, Clive. The New Literacy. Wired Magazine. Web.