Last Friday, Campus Progress Action traveled to the University of Mississippi, the site of the first presidential debate, to participate in Issue Alley, an all day pre-debate event where a variety of nonprofit organizations tabled and talked to students and the press. We collecting over 50 testimonials from young voters for our I’m Voting For campaign, and while there was clearly a diversity of opinion among the participants, one thing was clear: these young people were passionate, engaged and most importantly, informed about the issues.

Had you attended yesterday’s event at the American Enterprise Institute, “The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?” you would have come away with a very different view of what young people are like today.

The first speaker, Mark Bauerlein, an English professor at Emory University and author of “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30),” made quick work of my age group, throwing out statistics that he claimed support his thesis that modern technology has irreparably harmed young people by squashing our literacy rates and intellectual curiosity.

He further posited that young people’s use of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace leads to rampant self-absorption. This last claim was particularly interesting since only a few minutes earlier, Mr. Bauerlein acknowledged the rise in civic participation by young people in the presidential primaries. Many would argue that this increased engagement is, at least in part, linked to the candidates’ use of social networking sites as organizing and information-gathering tools.

The counter-argument was presented by Neil Howe, the author of “Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation.” Mr. Howe did an admirable job of debunking much of the data presented by Mr. Bauerlein, mostly by pointing to a rise in intelligence test scores over time, and using other examples such as the increased difficulty of the winning words at the National Spelling Bee. Regrettably, his only substantive defense of new technology had to do with video games – specifically the increased use of video games by the military and major corporations as training tools – which did little to debunk the myth that young people only care about themselves. 

During the Q&A, there were many questions I wish I could have asked:

“Mr. Bauerlein, wouldn’t you agree that the weakened economy – which is impacting drop-out rates for high school students, and impeding young people’s ability to go to college – might provide one explanation for the decline in intellectual pursuits, such as reading novels for pleasure? Because really, who has time to read War and Peace when they’re working two jobs just to cover rent and student loans?”

“Mr. Bauerlein, can you explain to me the apparent incongruity of a decline in generational intelligence and a rise in political knowledge and engagement? Are you saying that young voters are voting, but it’s because they’re stupid?”

“What do your ‘dumb’ students think of your book?”

Unfortunately, time ran out before I had the chance. Note to self: get to events early…there’s a better choice of food and you’re more likely to get a seat in front so you’ll actually be called on. So, instead, I’d like to pose a question to our friends at the American Enterprise Institute: The next time you attempt to find out whether or not young people are “dumb,” why not let us speak for ourselves instead of having two middle-aged men, however well-intentioned, answer the question for us?