Thinking and school starting up

Dad has this way of talking about people. In this one he talks about the youngest guy on the survey crew and mentions that 'he hasn’t done very much thinking'. As the college classes start up, faculty stand around and talk. Thinking is one of the things that many of us feel has changed over time. How much thinking do young people do? I know that Dad was a thinker and I spent a lot of time thinking (in school accused of daydreaming). Are people thinking as well as texting today. Are they thinking in different ways than we did in the 60's and 70's or than folks did in the 30's and 40's? I believe that as the environment and economy have been impacting our lives people are becoming more philosophical and asking new questions about how they are living and how we are structuring our lives.