What if the government started regulating social networks and the media?

In an effort to promote education, they could mandate that every tenth twitter account that people follow must be educational or news related.  They could require that YouTube play clips from relevant international news stories - where advertisements currently air - before playing the video you want to watch.  And they could mandate educational components to be evident in every season of TV shows.  Together, these three changes would surely spark a growth in political awareness and interest in education, right?

The rationale for such regulations is that young people spend too much time in social networks and media, and far too little time on civic engagement and education.  Such regulation would counteract the culture of apathy and arouse curiosity in the Millennials who place no importance on knowing what's going on in the world or their country.  A perfect solution, right?

Such regulations are absurd, but not necessarily too far from reality.  When nation-wide problems are identified in society, especially in areas where the government is highly involved, such as education, the government seeks to implement solutions.  These proposed reforms would certainly be ineffective and far outside the bounds of appropriate government action, in addition to severely limiting human liberty and choice.  The problem is that the Millennial generation in the United States does not place an importance on engaging intellectually.  The absurd mandates above ignore the issue and focus on a bandaid solution,

The real issue is that many Millennials are a-literal, which means that they know how to read but choose not to read (Bauerlein, 59). They have more information available to them than anyone else in history has ever had, and the selectively prefer celebrity news, social networks, video games, TV, music and videos over reading, following politics or news, maintaining a work ethic or learning in school.  They are ignorant regarding basic facts, such as the father of the American Constitution, the Vice President of America, the pope's residency, the three branches of government, the rights guaranteed by the first amendment, and the name of the Prime Minister of England (Bauerlein, 12).

The ignorance of the rising generation - known as the Millennials, those born approximately between 1980 and 1995 - is terrifying.  The old saying goes, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it."  The future of America is grim, unless the trend toward a-literacy is reversed.  American democracy rests on a shaky foundation, as people are media-consumers rather than -critiquers.  They have no fundamental understanding of economics or politics or history which would provide a criteria to evaluate policy reforms or judge political candidates.  Maybe the government should start regulating social networks and the media to incentivize political engagement. 

Bauerlein, Mark. 2008. The Dumbest Generation, Penguin Group: New York.