August 20, 2012

More 'Wired,' but Not So Different? New Book Paints Complex Portrait of Today's Students

More 'Wired,' but Not So Different? 1

Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

Young people on campuses today, with near-constant access to the Web and social-media tools, have a different idea of "connectedness" than older groups, but generational divides aren't as sharp as they're sometimes portrayed. "This generation looks like the last generation in a lot of ways," says Arthur Levine.

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close More 'Wired,' but Not So Different? 1

Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

Young people on campuses today, with near-constant access to the Web and social-media tools, have a different idea of "connectedness" than older groups, but generational divides aren't as sharp as they're sometimes portrayed. "This generation looks like the last generation in a lot of ways," says Arthur Levine.

By Eric Hoover

If today's college students are marching toward the abyss, as so many pundits and prognosticators have said, the poor fools will never see the yawning pit until it's too late. After all, they have pasted their eyeballs to the shimmering screens they hold, and even if one of them were to spot the danger ahead, he would not dare speak up without an adult telling him it was OK to do so. Such are kids today.

OK, OK, that's a mean, generational joke, told by a 37-year-old reporter who has