There are those who affirm that the addiction to cell phones, selfies and narcissism of millennials are symptoms of an intellectual deterioration; according to these, the new generations tend to be more ignorant and less interested in cultivating, although there is another sector that affirms the opposite, and that what is happening in reality is that the new generations are evolving, they are more intelligent.
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Let's not forget however that the measurement of intelligence is something a little more complex than you think.
Affirmations like "this technology is making us more antisocial" are heard and read a lot in recent years.
It seems that it is true that people are becoming more self-absorbed than before, it is notorious that the only thing they think about is the most recent message or publication on their whatsapp or facebook, but this would not indicate that people are stupider. Probably if people had 30 or 50 years ago had access to this technology would have done the same
As a member of the so-called Generation X (label and definition with which I do not agree), I personally do not see much difference. Before, it was not cell phones that had people distracted from the world around them, but it was television in the dining room and in the living room, were newspapers or magazines on public transport. Anyway, we must accept that it is a fact that people who used to read newspapers, would later have a conversation about some topic, unlike what is happening today.
It is true that the use of the cell phone is much more noticeable than in previous years were the other means of communication-distraction, however there is a fact that draws attention and that has this generation in common with the previous: at the time engage a conversation with anyone on any kind of subject related to the world we live in, with reality, it had not been before, nor today it is easy to find someone who, let's say is more or less informed, but has an interest . Not to mention the tendency to validate the opinion of others, generally opinion leaders in any area, rather than their own.
There are many statistics that evaluate the differences between what is known as generation Z, which are children born after 1995; the generation Y or millennials born more or less from 1983, and their predecessors known as Generation X and who were born between 1972-1975.
In these statistics we can read figures related to interest in the environment, familiarity with technology, attitudes towards religion or tolerance towards same-sex marriage and openness towards drug legalization, for example. But not much is said about whether there is a qualitative and quantitative change in cognitive ability, and what is said seems very subjective. In other words, if the current generation is stupider or smarter.
Rather, it seems that what they are talking about is a change in patterns of behavior, not an increase or decrease in intelligence.
It is likely that the percentage of curious people who existed in previous decades or centuries is the same as today, and who would now be exploring this new territory just as a child would look with curiosity at the world in which one begins make way; while the other percentage of the population is the one that would be using technology focused mainly on satisfying basic needs focusing solely on entertainment and social networks.
What could also tell us that great gaps would be opened as it had not happened before between groups of the population with the gene of curiosity - as they have come to name it - and those who have little developed it, In turn, these two groups have opened a large gap with social or ethnic groups in the world that do not have access to information technologies. Some say that the percentage of people who maintain curiosity and sense of wonder, is around 10-11% of the population.
Returning to what I mentioned at the beginning, there are those who affirm that this generation is evolving and is more intelligent than the previous ones, this because of the advance in the rate of change that goes hand in hand with the exponential advance of technology, which I do not believe either.
Trends in patterns of behavior are changing (and not always changing means evolving), for example, the fact that is increasingly talking about climate change in the media leads many to adopt ideas and behaviors "green". Only this change does not seem to be related to a more developed intelligence, or less.
People are not aware of things like what I mentioned in this example because the feeling comes from within, by self-awareness, but by external conditioning. Another example is the issue of the legalization of drugs, a matter that ultimately is not being promoted in the media by adolescents, but by adults, although those who adopt these patterns are younger.
Which is not bad, it implies changes in society, and some of them positive. The only thing I want to say is that there does not seem to be clear evidence to prove that younger generations have their intellectual capacity diminished - or increased - in relation to their predecessors.
Neither the zombies of the cell phone, nor the great social changes seem to indicate important changes in intelligence.
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