reading response 1

4/8/2010

reading response #1

The recent article written by Clive Thompson and published in Wired Magazine in August of last year touches on a subject many might not think about, but is well known through the faculties of schools. The thought that kids now can’t write due to the increase in use of social sites like Facebook and the age of texting. Many like that of an English professor in London suggest that this is creating an age of illiteracy and that it’s dwindled our language to a ‘bleak, bald, and shorthand’ style of writing. While others, including Andrea Lunsford believe that this isn’t all so bad. She says that we are coming into a ‘literacy revolution’ where kids now write more than ever before. Thompson then goes on to suggest that now with the massive growth of technology and the use of internet, may not be the end to literacy. With the new found ability to quickly respond to someone instead of waiting for letters or phone calls, allows one to quickly adjust to their audience and change their tone or word choice to best help them get their point across. With this increase of audience’s for writing, Thompson implies that it will change the point of writing in everyday life because there is always an audience to write to and alters the perception on what good writing means and is.

Compared to Thompson, I agree with the ideas that it is creating an age where writing is changing and evolving into a new style and way of writing. Also it is allowing one to write more than any time in history and to any audience they seek online, creating a large pool of circling conversation, arguments and ideas waiting for anyone to step in and contribute. But in contrast to that, I feel there will be a long term problem arising from all of this. With this ever growing age of technology, and the use of short hand text, it will slowly creep into our academics and as John Sutherland from University of College in London; it will become ‘bleak’ and ‘bald’. While others may disagree with this, feeling that academic writing will not turn to this, I feel that soon it could come a time when the world of Facebook writing and texting, which is now being used by the majority of Americans will inevitably weave itself into our Academics, dumbing down the standards of good writing.