possibly noteworthy wrote:

A new study overturns the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation' – youngsters born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most web-literate. The first ever virtual longitudinal study carried out by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an apparent ease and familiarity with computers, they rely heavily on search engines, view rather than read and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they find on the web.

You hear a lot of griping about the decline of critical thinking, but "view rather than read" is an interesting and apt criticism. As McLuhan might argue, it has more to do with the medium than the individuals in question. Interactivity and deep reflection are inversely correlated.

This is a dramatic conclusion and one which contradicts my belief that the Internet increases people's critical thinking about sources versus a mass media environment. However, I'm not sure the study actually supports the conclusions presented in this paragraph. I haven't read it all in detail, but these two data points stand out.

They find their peers more credible as information
sources than authority figures

Our verdict: On balance, we think this is a myth.
Research in the specific context of the information
resources that children prefer and value in a secondary
school setting shows that teachers, relatives and
textbooks are consistently valued above the internet.
We feel this statement has more to do with social
networking sub-culture and teenagers’ naturally
rebellious tendencies. Its specific application to the
world of education and libraries is pretty questionable.

They prefer quick information in the form of easily
digested chunks, rather than full text

Our verdict: This is a myth. CIBER deep log studies
show that, from undergraduates to professors, people
exhibit a strong tendency towards shallow, horizontal,
`flicking’ behaviour in digital libraries. Power browsing
and viewing appear to be the norm for all. The popularity
of abstracts among older researchers rather gives the
game away. Society is dumbing down.

I'm not sure that later sentence follows from the preceeding text, but both of these seem to undermine the statement that the "Google Generation" specifically prefers to "view rather than read" or lacks critical or analytical skills.

RE: Pioneering research shows ‘Google Generation’ is a myth