Rhetorical Analysis Of Generation Velcro

A Rhetorical analysis of “Generation Velcro” In “Generation Velcro,” Dorothy Woodend discusses the lack of basic skills and knowledge that is being passed down from generation to generation, and how this could be a fundamental problem for both generation Y and the future of planet earth. Woodend, setting the tone for her article, asks the question, “[i]s this generation heading into a coming dark age with little more than the ability to update their Facebook statuses and watch YouTube, all with laces untied?” (par. 7). She contends that “[t]he inability to concentrate in a world of competing bits of information and constant multitasking have led to brains that can no longer keep up,” implying that this problem of concentration is inhibiting this newest generation’s ability to learn the skills necessary to sustain our world properly (par. 12). While Woodend has presented an intriguing and thought provoking theory, I feel that it is flawed for a number of reasons: the first of these being that her conclusions are mainly based on

For example, she speaks of “a coming dark age” as though it is an unavoidable and very real situation our generation will face in the future, yet fails to provide any proof of such a thing beyond her own personal opinions and those of the author Jane Jacobs (par. 5). She does, however provide some statistical backing, though I would call it mediocre at best. Woodend states, “[i]n North America now, less than two percent of people call themselves farmers and the median age of farmers in Canada is already pushing mid-50’s” (par. 14). While this statistic may seem alarming at first, to put it into perspective, that would mean that there are about 11 million people who call themselves farmers, which isn’t exactly a shortage. Though she has made some dramatic claims, they don’t seem to bear much