COMM 203 Critical Thinking

Students (and people in general) are using critical thinking less and less every day.  No one really wants to think about how they arrived at an answer, they are just content with the fact that it's correct.  Many of our daily tasks require little thought and most of the next generation is fixated on the technology that controls their lives.  That's the problem.  The technology we use and the convenience of those technologies such as iPads and Smart phones and the applications we use with them, like Facebook, require minimal critical thinking skills.

The convenience of such devices are what cripples this crucial skill.  I no longer have to remember when projects are due if I have my phone do it for me or when my friends' birthdays are if it shows up on Facebook.  There's absolutely nothing I need to remember think about from Facebook.  Even if there was a comment that have 47 likes, Facebook will have it pop up as a "Memorable Post". 

When I was younger and played video games like the Legend of Zelda, I had to think about how to advance through the dungeons.  There were puzzles and problem solving skills required to beat the game.  Now most of the game market is riddled with First Person Shooter games that provide you with objectives to tell you what to do and a cursor to show you where to go.  Be that as it may, this doesn't at all exclude a FPS game from requiring strategy or thought. However, video games are becoming increasingly easier to play and requiring less critical thinking to complete.

This helps to show us how our society is evolving with technology and critical thinking.  Many of the day to day tasks we face don't require critical thinking.  We also need convenience in order to function.  I would forget most of the tests I have or important projects that are due if I didn't get an email from Shepherd University's LMS, Sakai.  If Facebook required us to think more it definitely wouldn't be as popular. If we can just play a game to shoot and kill stuff, then why would we spend our leisure time trying to figure out how to open the next door in the dungeon?