During his commencement address at Virginia's Hampton University on Sunday, President Obama warned graduates of the "distraction" devices like the iPad can create, and the abundance of erroneous information online. "With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work," Obama said, "information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation." Because "some of the craziest claims" often proliferate on the internet, he added, Americans face increased "pressures" to decipher truth from fiction. Are Obama's injunctions against 21st Century technology valid? (Watch Obama's comments about the iPad)
What a geezer: For the first time, says Glynnis MacNicol in Mediaite, Obama sounds "old and out of touch." It's "one thing to bemoan or admonish" older constituents, who still struggle to grapple with the barrage of technology and disinformation that permeates society. But it's quite another "to lecture a bunch of 22-year-olds... who [can easily] weed out the nonsense from the truth." They've always had to.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The growing thirst for camel milkUnder the radar Climate change and health-conscious consumers are pushing demand for nutrient-rich product – and the growth of industrialised farming
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA DraftSpeed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
