Markus Lüpertz
Markus Lüpertz

Noted German artist and former head of the Düsseldorf Academy of Art Markus Lüpertz said that today’s youngsters are increasingly dumbed down in comparison to previous generations in an interview with German news weekly Focus. The culprit? New media and the internet, says the painter, to which people have, “uncritically fallen prey,” he says. “Why should I want to know anything if all I need to do is to touch my iPhone,” in order to find it out, he asks. According to Lüpertz, high school graduates can’t even read or write anymore.