my audience, sorry!

            The audience of my paper is our generation as well as future generations. I want this paper to serve as a warning to be careful with technology. My goal of this paper is to show and present how the Internet and technology can be used effectively to increase our generations as well and future generations intelligence. I presented both sides of the argument to show my peers the dangers and what could happen if we become dependent on technology. 

rough draft

Meara Stack

WRIT 1122

Professor Eric Leake

30 January 2012

Still Need a Title

A few weeks ago, Wikipedia, the sixth most visited website in the World, purposely blacked out. To raise awareness and protest the new SOPA laws, Wikipedia shutdown for twenty-four hours leaving only a message informing people what the SOPA laws are and how and why we should protest them. Just twenty-four hours without being able to use Wikipedia was a major hindrance to some people. When beginning to research a topic for an essay or project or even when one has a simple question he or she cannot answer, where is the first place they look for the answer? The Internet, or more specifically, Wikipedia. Yes, blacking out Wikipedia for twenty-four hours may have been a little extreme however, this stunt did make a huge impact on me and I imagine anyone and everyone else who grew up with the Internet. We rely so heavily on the Internet that some people argue it is harming our minds as individuals and as a society. However, what these people do not see behind the negative effects, and I agree that many exist, are equally present positive influences the Internet has on our lives and intelligence. In regards to the new age of Internet reading and writing, plain and simple it is different and will continue to change.

            The role of technology in today’s society is massive and good or bad; our usage of technology will only increase. Technology, especially the Internet, is argued as both helpful and harmful. Authors, professors, and bloggers all have discussed and expressed their opinions on this topic. On the one hand, the side promoting the Internet as a useful tool is author Clive Thompson who argues utilizing technology is the new way of literacy. Thompson analyzes data collected by Stanford writing and rhetoric professor Andrea Lunsford about Stanford student’s writing habits. One major difference between previous generations writing habits and those of current generations is that current generation writes more than ever before. The frequency of writing in addition to the content of writing has increased significantly. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have a tremendous impact on how much we write. Multiple times a day, people are updating their statuses, writing on friend’s walls, commenting on pictures, or tweeting one hundred and forty characters about their day. Although simple and often just phrases, writing is writing and just writing anything requires some sort of thought or creative process. Conversely, some would argue the opposite, that “Facebook” writing is not considered real writing. Author Nicholas Carr would agree that we waste too much time clicking away on the Internet. He argues that people in today’s society browse multiple Websites aimlessly and this action is lessening our ability to concentrate for long periods of time. Coming across as anti-Internet, Car explains,

Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today. Yet, for all that’s been written about the Net, there’s been little consideration of how, exactly, it’s reprogramming us.

He believes we rely too heavily on the Internet to do work for us and that it is “reprogramming” the way we think. Yet what Carr mentions, yet neglects to emphasize is how effective the Internet is at communication and brining people closer together. With the numerous ways to communicate via the Web, staying in touch with people oversees, across the country, or from back home has never been easier. All of this communication on the Web definitely leads to more frequent reading and writing outside of the classroom as Thompson examined.

            The Internet also gives us extreme amounts of freedom. With just a few clicks of the mouse, anyone could make a new Facebook page or create their very own blog. Social media sites allow for people to be open and share their experiences with all of their friends and others instantly online. Blogging especially promotes a type of freedom regular print authors cannot get. A blogger can finish writing a blog post and then publish online minutes, or even seconds later. No longer do authors have to send their finished work to an editor who makes changer, sends it back, then the author makes changes, then back to the editor, and the possibly to the publisher. Writing on the Internet is simpler and quicker and more and more people are trying it. However, people do argue that this kind of writing and having so much of our lives online is hazardous to our minds. Author Chris Hedges strongly agrees that the Internet is making us stupid and the Internet is to blame for our country’s growing illiteracy rate. He believes everything from presidential debates to ads on TV is being tailor for people who cannot read, write or think for themselves because we abuse the Internet. He writes, “In our post-literate world, because ideas are inaccessible, there is a need for constant stimulus. News, political debate, theater, art and books are judged not on the power of their ideas but on their ability to entertain” (Hedges 2). According to Hedges, information is put out there now for entertainment purposed only and even cultural and news information is not there to make us think. We are losing our ability to think of new ideas and form opinions for ourselves.

            While it may be true that our country’s illiteracy rate is increasing, Hedges ignores what actually means to be literate. In his article he gives statistical evidence of illiteracy figures, yet he never once presents his definition of literacy. What does is mean to be literate? Or illiterate? With all of the technological influences we have now, literacy is not as simple as being able to read a book. This topic is much more complex than Hedges realizes and professor Sylvia Scribner makes an attempt to define such a complicated term in her article, Literary in Three Metaphors. As the title suggests, Scribner uses three metaphors to form a multidimensional definition of the word. Scribner compares literacy as adaptation, as power, and as a state of grace. She chooses these three metaphors because this topic is so broad and confusing she tries to compile a more simple definition of the term.

My argument is that any of the metaphors, taken by itself, gives us only a partial grasp of the many and varied utilities of literacy of the complex social and psychological factors sustaining aspiration for and achievement of individual literacy. (Scribner 5)

In her opinion, it is impossible to define the word “literacy” in just a few short sentences. This word is so complex and means different things to different people she wants to present multiple sides of her opinion. Conversely, Hedges, states, “Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate… But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence” (Hedges 1). After his statistic about how much of our population is illiterate he questions and almost accuses the other two thirds of Americans of not being literate by his standards. Who is he to dictate what is means to be literate? For Scribner, to be literate means to be “functionally literate” which she defines as, “the level of proficiency necessary for effective performance in a range of settings and customary activities” (Scribner 6). In more simple terms Scribner is saying a person raising chickens on a farm does not need to have the same proficiency level as someone running for a seat in Congress. To be literate on a farm is entirely different than being literate in politics. Literacy can never be defined simply because it is such a complex word, but the main point I am trying to make is that this is a word that holds a different meaning for each and every person alive.

            We can never thank technology enough for making our lives so much easier, but we have to be careful. If we do not monitor our Internet habits and rely too heavily on it, it can be detrimental to our society. Because of the Internet we can conduct research faster and communicate easier which promotes reading and writing outside of the classroom. Children of the “Facebook Generation” read and write more than any other generation solely because of advancements in technology. However, as technology continues to change the definition of reading and writing will also change. We must be careful to let it do all of our work for us. The Internet is a great tool to increase our brainpower and ability to read and write. It is up to us to continue finding ways to use the Internet to promote intelligence. 

P9. Reflection of Blogging

So after creating all of these blog posts I must say it was not as painful as I thought it would be. And by painful I mean trying to come up with 250 words or more about different articles relating to reading and writing. At first I thought there is no way I have that much to say about these topics, but I was definitely surprised that in several instances I had almost too much to say! I think the most challenging aspect of writing the blog was trying to connect each post with the previous posts. Sometimes it was obvious how they related and other times it was not so obvious because they were opposite of each other.

            I found reading the articles criticizing our society’s lack of brainpower most interesting. This was the first time I have read in depth about this on going debate about whether the Internet is making us, in general, smarter or stupider. I’m glad we were able to read both sides of the argument but I have to say the articles scolded us for using the Internet too often was the most shocking. It is impossible now to completely stop using the Internet because we rely on it for day to day life, but I think changed can be made to make it more helpful. I’m sure there are a million and one educational tools on the Internet that schools can use to better educate the next generation of tech-obsessed citizens.

            After tracking our Internet history and reading about my classmates Internet habits, I am definitely more aware of how I spend my time online. I wouldn’t say my habits have necessarily changed, but at least am I aware of what I’m doing. That’s half the battle, right? However, I do find myself checking different online newspapers and articles than I did before. 

P8. A Glimmer of Hope?

The main difference between Thompson’s article on the new literacy and Hedges and Carr’s article is the positivity in Thompson’s article that is pretty much non-existent in the other two. Thompson makes the claim that the Internet is actually improving our nation’s writing ability because people are writing more frequently online than ever before. There is actual statistical research to back up these hopeful claims. After reading Hedges and Carr’s articles about how dumb we’ve become as a society, it was refreshing to explore the other side of the ongoing agreement: is the Internet helpful or harmful? (A question to which I would still answer both.) However, I am slightly skeptical of what Thompson is saying. Yes it’s true we do a lot more writing out of school now via Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc. but what concerns me is does creating a Facebook status really count as a legitimate piece of writing? How about a 125 character Tweet? I mean how much creativity is really necessary there? Nonetheless, social media is forcing people to write something, no matter how short, and that I believe is better than not writing at all.

And now for the heavy stuff presented abut literacy and metaphors. What I liked about Scribner’s articles was that she actually made the effort to try and define the word “literacy” instead of just blaming technology as the reason rates of illiteracy are on the rise. Although Scribner defines the word “literacy” in several ways in all fourteen pages of the article, I still believe that term may never be accurately defined or generalized. Yes I agree that literacy is power and social. She makes a very valid, non-biased argument unlike some of the other author’s we’ve read. I agree with Scribner that the term “literacy” has different meaning for people all over the world. Do people in remote tribes of the jungle really need to know how to read the paper or understand a presidential debate? Yes I know this example is an extreme case but I think more people need to look into both sides of the argument before asserting their opinions. 

P7 The Shocking Truth About Illiteracy in America

            The prompt for this blog post asks what we find troubling in Chris Hedges’s “America the Illiterate” and frankly there’s not much there that I don’t find troubling. For starters, the fact that 80% of families in America did not buy a single book last year frightens me. What is happening to our society? If one third of our nation’s population is illiterate, who is going to lead our country in the future? Who will be the innovators of tomorrow, certainly not one third of the population?

            I do agree with Hedge and Carr that the Internet is contributing to this growing rate of illiteracy, however I believe there are other factors contributing to this issue. I think a big portion of the problem comes from families not having enough money to send their kids to elementary school. Also some schools do not get enough money from the government to pay for the necessary books and supplies. I would imagine that a lot of the population that is illiterate does not even have access to the Internet. I don’t know. Those are pretty large assumptions to make without any evidence to back them up but that’s just what I believe, or would like to believe at least.

           

            Both Carr and Hedge pretty openly blame the Internet for making America stupid. Carr presents both sides of the argument: that the Internet is both helpful and harmful. Hedge writes with more aggression and statistical evidence of how our country is evolving in the wrong direction. One fact that really put it all into perspective was the study of vocabulary from past presidential debates. The fact that the Lincoln- Douglas debate scored in between 11 and 12^th grade vocabulary level and the Bush-Gore debate only scored in between 6 and 7^th grade level scared me. Is our country really that dumb? I sure hope not. In recent years have the candidates really dumbed themselves down simply because such a large portion of our population could not understand them otherwise? Then what is going to happen ten years from now, presidential candidates speaking at a first grade level? I hope someday soon more people realize what is going on and make major changes to the way we use technology. 

P6 Is Google Really Making Us Stupid?

Is Google really making us stupid? Yes and no. After reading Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” I would have to agree with Carr in that used properly, Google and the Internet is an incredibly advanced and useful tool, but is also hurting our society in a way.

Google and the Internet is the quickest and most convenient way to access information about pretty much any topic. Instead of spending hours in the library among enormous textbooks and encyclopedias, one Google search can result in the same information in a fraction of the time. Talk about efficiency. In that way, Google is indeed increasing our knowledge.

            However, if so many people have such easy access to that information, then why aren’t we all super geniuses Albert Einstein or Mark Zuckerberg? (I actually had to do a quick Google search to make sure I spelt his name right. Ironic?) The reason we aren’t like them is because even though we have immediate access, the difference is how we access this knowledge. As Carr states, “Google is doing the work of the mind” and we simply click and click and click until we find what we are looking for. The only work we are doing is a quick scan to see if what Google finds really answers our question.

            Another way the Internet is compromising our minds is it is shortening our attention spans because on the Internet, once you get bored with something, you are just one click away from doing something else. As Carr wonderfully summarizes this idea in a metaphor, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” It is becoming uncommon for people to sit down a read because when you’re online the instant the you get bored, you make a few clicks and just like that you are on another website. And if we can’t keep our attention on one webpage, how are we expected to focus on something so dull and lifeless as a novel or newspaper?

            Contrary to some of my classmates and even lit majors in this article, I still find myself reading print, especially books, for hours at a time. For me, a good book can capture my attention until I’m too tired and need to go to bed. I find books entertaining because they tell a story, fiction or none fiction, that is so different from my own life that it is exciting. Call me a book nerd, but I still believe in their fun.

            So again I ask, is Google really making us stupid? My Answer is still yes and no. If used appropriately, I think it’s an awesome tool to increase our brainpower. If abused, and used to do our thinking for us, then yes, Google is decreasing our knowledge. 

P5 Reading, Writing, and Rewriting

Harris’ book Rewriting is a book about how to write, (thank you captain obvious). But it is how he defines the art of reading and writing that makes this book unique from other writing guides. According to Harris the process of writing is taking a previous written text and put in a different perspective. He believes the purpose of rewriting a text is to allow the audience to think differently about the text, maybe see both sides of an argument. Harris defines reading as taking a text, whether is be a book, movie, poem, painting etc, and discover the author’s purpose for creating that particular text. Reading is extracting the meaning out of an existing text.

           

            When I compare Harris’ definitions of reading and writing to previously blogged about Andrew Sullivan’s definitions, I find a few differences. Mainly, Sullivan seems more casual or blasé about writing. Given the medium each author works with, blogs being more casual, I understand why Harris’ text has a more serious tone to it. Sullivan writes freely because freedom is a blogger’s best friend. On the other hand, Harris defines writing as a strict, almost formulaic process because he is writing an academic book about how to write academically. I neither agree nor disagree with either author because it is difficult to make a comparison when the authors medium as well as audience are entirely different. 

P4 we all spend a lot of time on the Internet

            After reviewing my classmates Internet logs it seems we all have one site in common, and it comes as no surprise that this site is Facebook. After all, we are the “Facebook Generation and while some people, mostly my parents age, would call this a bad thing to be labeled by, I have to disagree with them. Yes, I will admit Facebook and the Internet are not always just fun and games; it can be dangerous at times. However, sometimes I feel that people only see and talk about the negative aspects of using or abusing Facebook and the Internet. It is easy to overlook all of the benefits social networking brings us. For example, staying in touch with friends from home, creating groups for sports or classes, advertising events, Skyping with your parents or even grandparents, and countless other opportunities that would not be possible without the Internet.

            I also noticed more people than I thought read the news online. Not many people our age I know regularly read the newspaper but that doesn’t mean we are not informed. These days there are so many ways to get information and news online and since we spend a lot of time online anyway, it’s easy. Personally, I’m not a huge newspaper reader mostly because I find it difficult and awkward hold it up and read at the same time. Online newspapers and magazines are becoming more and more popular and print newspaper subscriptions are on the decline. The Internet is definitely ruling the lives of our generation and generations after us, which makes me wonder if print news will eventually disappear. 

P3 What am I looking at on the Internet?

Let me start off by saying I spend way too much time on the Internet and I’ve been trying to cut back in this New Year. So far it’s worked out ok. I would say I definitely spend less time on Facebook and Hulu, but I still need to work on it.

            Although my homepage is Google, my most frequented site definitely has to been Yahoo Homepage. I am probably on Yahoo up to ten times a day. Yes my email account is by Yahoo but that’s not the reason why I’m on this site so much. I’m always on there because I love to read the Yahoo news headlines. Getting the news has never been so easy or interesting before.

            For those of you who have never experienced Yahoo Homepage, I highly recommend it. Four headlines with pictures show up in the middle of the screen and there is a brief, attention grabbing sentence or two about the article. Then you can click the right arrow, which brings you to the next set of four articles with pictures. Sometimes there is up to 30 articles! If I see something that seems interesting, I click on the article and read it or just read part of it if its boring and not as cool as I thought it was going to be. Most of the articles I read have to do with the latest health and fitness advice, sports news, cool and lavish real-estate that I will never be able to afford, or even sweet videos of sea turtles high-fiving!

            When I don’t have time to sit and watch NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, or read the entire newspaper, Yahoo news is a great way to stay current with what is happening in the world with the additional random but interesting facts or stories.

            When I do find myself on Facebook it is mainly to chat or video chat with friends from home and the occasional, or maybe not so occasional stalking my friend’s pictures and let’s be honest, pictures of people I hardly know. Admit it, you do it too. 

a blog is the opposite of a diary

            I agree with Andrew Sullivan when he says blogging is the opposite of writing in a diary. A blog is written with the intention of other people, often strangers reading the author’s thoughts and feelings. For that reason I feel like one reason why Sullivan blogs is to be a risk taker, to add a little excitement in his life. Writing is not always the most exhilarating process but the idea of posting writing on the Internet for anyone to read adds a certain amount of risk and thrill. Blogs can be published instantly after they are written, a task that is impossible for newspaper articles or magazines and other forms of print. Because blogs are typically more personal than a newspaper article, with each new post, the author becomes even more vulnerable than before. Anyone with Internet has immediate access deep into the lives of the blogger. Sullivan is fully aware of the risks he is taking by blogging. He writes, “But blogging requires an embrace of such hazards, a willingness to fall off the trapeze rather than fail to make the leap” (3). Not all risk end in success but the fact that he is willing to take those risks even if he fails shows his courageousness. He understands not everyone one will agree with him or what he writes but he blogs anyway. He blogs because he enjoys the process and knows there are people out there who enjoy reading it, but he does not try to please everyone. Staying true to himself, as a writer is his first priority, how many followers he has is less important. 

who knew creating a blog could be this easy

To be honest I did not realize how easy it was to create a blog. It was as easy as creating a Facebook page, which means anyone with basic Internet knowledge could make his or her own blog. The simplicity of blog-making made me realize how easy it is for someone to put information on the Web as well as for someone else to read it. I am amazed how quickly information is passed around in this technology dependant era. Anyone can write news on the Internet and pretend it is real just as another person can read an article or blog and think that it is the truth. I know understand why in every year in high school my teachers stressed the importance of using reliable sources. There is so much information on the Web and one has to be especially careful while researching for school. Another scary thought about the easiness of posting information on the Web is that there are so many different opinions about certain topics. There are so many opinions out there that I wonder how difficult it is to think about and come up with new ideas. I believe it is becoming increasingly difficult to be original and creative in this decade where information is passed around so quickly online. I’m not sure how I feel about joining this growing trend of publishing my thoughts and opinions on the Web for other people to read. For me, writing is personal and I don’t love to share it with people. With Facebook, blogs, and Twitter the lines of people’s privacy are extremely blurred. When will it be too much? Will it ever stop or even slow down?