Author’s Note:
The audience of my paper is my 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. I used modern day examples and social media terminology to connect with them. Also, the tone of my paper is not accusatory; my goal is not to punish anyone, but to enlighten them.
A few weeks ago, Wikipedia, the sixth most visited website in the World, purposely blacked out. To raise awareness and protest the new SOPA and PIPA laws, Wikipedia shutdown for twenty-four hours leaving only a message informing people what the SOPA and PIPA laws are and how and why we should protest them. These laws are intended to stop online video piracy and restore the rights of certain content to the original authors or creators. Just twenty-four hours without access 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 everyone else who lives online (and especially that kid desperate for information the night before his essay is deue!) 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 the equally prevalent 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.
Maybe to our parents reading means sitting down at a desk and reading an old and dusty novel written by some great American author, but to me, reading has a wider definition. I think of reading as quickly browsing through news headlines online, reading Twitter updates, reading articles in magazines in addition to actual books. And not just textbooks I might add. A minority among my peers, I still find time and enjoy reading novels, for example, the thrilling series The Hunger Games by Suzanna Collins or riveting nonfiction books such as Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. The same idea holds true for writing, where in old generations writing meant putting a pencil to paper for a formal school-assigned essay. Today, we write via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and the occasional academic essay.
The role of technology in today’s society is massively abundant and 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, 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. The writing process requires some sort of thought or creativity. Conversely, some would argue the opposite, that “Facebook” writing is not considered real writing. Author and blogger, Nicholas Carr would agree that we waste too much time clicking away on the Internet. He argues that people in today’s society simultaneously browse multiple Websites aimlessly and this action is lessening our ability to concentrate for long periods of time. Coming across as anti-Internet, Carr 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 creating 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. These processes are more frequent because we actually want to write outside of school.
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. (Case and point: my blog took less than two minutes to complete) 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 achieve. 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. (A painfully long process, just like this sentence!) 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 living 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 are being tailored for people who cannot read, write or think for themselves because we waste so much time online. 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 purposes only. He believes 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 it mean to be literate? Or illiterate?
With all of the technological influences we have now, to be literate 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 simpler 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. Also, just because I can find the second derivative of a function does not mean I can find the precipitation rate of an unknown substance in a chemistry lab.
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 have a lot to thank technology for, 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 not 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.
Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic — News and Analysis on
Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Life – TheAtlantic.com. July 2008. Web. <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google.>.
Hedges, Chris. "America the Illiterate." 10 Nov. 2008. Web.
<http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081110_america_the_illiterate
Scribner, Sylvia. "Literacy in Three Metaphors." The American Journal of
Education(1984). Print.
Thompson, Clive. "Clive Thompson on the New Literacy." Wired.com. 24 Aug. 2009.
Web. <http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-09/st_thompson>.
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