Does Pop Culture Deliver Stupidity? No! The Current Is Too Fast For That!

The pendulum is in motion! With every swing, new technology adds more bells and whistles to the Pop Culture Toy Chest.

Information eddies and rushes, from a stream that is ever-widening. No need for today's kid researchers to go to the library--to pull out the card catalogs and periodicals. Research is at home--at the tip of one's fingers.

Life is simple. Kids today have it made--right?

NO!

I have been in the teaching and parenting business for many years; and I have watched a few trends come and go. It might seem that kids today are on Easy Street. It might seem that because of all of the research time that they are saving, that they should be able to prop up their feet, eat, drink, make merry, surf around, video game themselves down the drain, and still manage to do their homework.

It might seem that Pop Culture has delivered to kids a recipe for Slovenly Stupidity; but that is not what I have observed.

True--kids today have more gadgets that would ostensibly make research and schooling simpler; but they are expected to do twice as much work, too.

More ground is covered faster in classes; and more and more classes are added to the curricula.

Getting into a good college becomes more difficult each year.

College-bound kids are tutored for the SAT, because SAT scores can make them or break them.

For a group who are often characterized as lazy and spoiled, kids today function under a great amount of pressure. They are walking on a very thin tightrope. Just getting from Point A to Point B requires a certain amount of savvy.

I don't know how anyone could believe that Pop Culture is making kids today stupid. Kids today are functioning at a higher level than at any other time in history. Even today's games are tough!

In his book Everything Bad Is Good For You, Steven Johnson, discusses how very un-fun today's games can often be:

"The dirty little secret of gaming is how much time you spend not having fun. You may be frustrated; you may be confused or disoriented; you may be stuck." (p. 25).

Even at play, today's kids function at intense levels. To resolve game issues, they are required to undertake engineering and strategic missions that many would not tackle for money.

Is Pop Culture Stimulating? Yes!

Does Pop Culture Deliver Stupidity? Hardly!

Today's Pop Culture might offer a bit of comic relief and an occasional breath of fresh air to today's kids; but kids today have little time to wallow in stupidity. The current is too fast. Kids today can barely stay afloat.

If we really want to discuss the problems with today's culture -- that is it.

Kids today can barely stay afloat. The current is too fast.

Johnson, Steven. (2005). Everything ad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. New York: Penguin Group.

Image from www.booksamillion.com

Is It True That Everthing "Bad" Is Good for Us -- or Do We Merely Need to Re-Define "Bad"

Let's play a game. Everyone close your eyes and focus for a second. When I say a word, don't speak--just visualize the word that I have said.

Okay -- Get Ready -- Here's the Word: "Library."

Of course, I can't say this for sure; but I bet most of you thought about a physical place--probably of bricks and glass--filled with books. It was probably a quiet place. It may have even been a fairly empty place--in regards to patrons. Yet, the patrons and the staff that you envisioned were probably flesh and blood humans--and the library and books were probably also real, and tangible.

If this is fairly close to what you have envisioned, you are correct--at least as far as the traditional concept of a library goes; but you are only partially correct, in terms of the ways that things are evolving.

The traditional library was created in the 19th century. This is the 21st century. In the 19th century, books were the stock and trade of the library. In the 21st century, books are only part of what the library must encompass. Now, libraries are challenged to also function digitally--to deal with bits--as well as books.

Things have changed. Information itself has changed. The needs of the patrons have changed. If the library hopes to continue to serve the patrons, it must also change--in many ways.

But the primary change that is required is one of attitude.

Above all else, today's library must be open. It must be willing to consider new ideas, new data, and new ways of doing things, because these new ideas, this new data, and these new ways of doing things ARE the patrons--and most importantly, the Patrons ARE the library.

A library for today's patrons--especially for today's younger patrons--must include options for electronic gaming, music, dvd's, computers, technological gadgets, multimedia software, etc. Many potential patrons, who would prefer to never read another book, would enjoy these other services and items.

It is important for the library to realize that these other items--that these other non-book services have significant merit, in their own rights.

In his book, Everything Bad is Good For You, Steven Johnson discusses the merits of the nonliterary popular culture. Among other things, he says the following:

"Increasingly, the nonliterary popular culture is honing different mental skills that are just as important as the ones exercised by reading books." (p. 23).

Most libraries need to expand their services so that the 21st century patrons are served in the media that THEY deem to be valid.

The library can elect to keep doing things the same, old, bricks and mortar, books-only, 19th century way--and hope that an occasional fly will flit through the building. Or it can opt to change and serve today's patrons, just the way that they are--not the way that the library wishes that they were.

When In Rome Do As the Romans Do.

When In the 21st Century Do As the 21st Centurians Do --

Or Don't Do As the 21st Centurains Do. Those are our options.

But if the choice is the latter, we should not be surprised to discover that funding is affected. After all, if the taxpayers are not being served by the library, why should the taxpayers continue to support it?

In summary, I'd like to return to my original point: the primary change that is required is one of attitude.

I have to think that the title of Steven Johnson's book [Everything Bad Is Good For You] is a tease. The title should actually be something along the line of: Many Things That You Traditionally Have Thought Were "Bad" Are Actually Good For You: Let's Reconsider the Meaning of "Bad." Let's Examine Our Attitudes.

Johnson, Steven. (2005). Everything ad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. New York: Penguin Group.

Rock Band Rocks!

My son and I just finished playing a game of Rock Band on his Xbox 360 entertainment system. For months I have been hearing the constant rhythmic thumping of the electronic drumset (included with the game) without realizing exactly what was going on, but I finally got a chance to try it first-hand tonight. When I went downstairs to ask him to play one of his games with me, he was already playing the guitar (also included with the game), clicking the color-coded buttons in rhythm as they made their way down the screen at a seemingly impossible pace. I decided I would give the drums a try. Within minutes (after choosing a much easier difficulty level), we were playing songs as unique parts of the fictional band that we created in the game. We played songs by all kinds of artists, ranging from the grungy sound of Nirvana to the more vintage sound of bands from my era, like Mountain. It was interesting to play the game, because not only was it incredibly addicting and fun, we both had the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and also enjoy music from each other’s unique generations.

We virtually performed them in the game together. It was very refreshing to play a game like this. That, in itself, is a reward--to have a common ground with my teenager.

The object of the game is not violent or antagonistic; rather, it is entirely cooperative. I hope games like this continue to be popular with today’s youth as they promote much better values while still managing to be incredibly fun.