How is Technology Affecting Our Literacy?

            Is technology affecting our literacy or is it just creating a new definition for literacy? Literacy is an ever-evolving concept that changes with new ways of reading and writing. Reading used to be only necessary in order to understand the Bible or other holy books but now we define a society by how much of its population can read or write. Literacy is definitely being changed by new technologies but whether it is a good or bad change I am not completely sure. Even if I had to pick one side I do not think I could because I believe that technology is neither a good or bad change for literacy but merely a change. Through this essay I will examine some articles we read and show how there are valid arguments to both sides but also attempt to show my own opinion. Some of the authors we have read discuss how technology is affecting their abilities to read long pieces of work. I have never really enjoyed reading that much so I cannot describe how technology is affecting my reading abilities but maybe it’s because of new technologies that I do not enjoy reading.

            Nicholas Carr writes in his essay Is Google Making Us Stupid? about how he struggles with reading longer pieces with new technologies, such as the Internet. Carr claims, “The Net seems to be…chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation”(Carr 2). He believes that the way information is portrayed on the Internet, in short snippets, is determining how our brain wants to get all of our information. I agree that the speed at which I can get information has rapidly changed and has affected my ability to research anything. If it isn’t in the first page of Google I most likely will change the wording of my search rather than press the dreaded next button. Also, the length of something on the Internet also determines whether or not I will put the effort into reading all of it. Obviously I will read something lengthy for class or if I am interested in the topic but if not I will just skim or completely ignore a long article or book.

            Even though I might skip the occasional long article I do not completely agree that the Internet is lowering our nations’ literacy rates. I do agree that it is changing what we read and how we read but I think that we are reading the same amount as we used to. Someone who read the newspaper every morning might still read the newspaper but might read the online version instead of the paper version. Maryanne Wolfe, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University, disagrees and believes “when we read online…we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged”(Carr 4). I agree that our reading habits change when reading online but I also think that it depends on what we are reading. If I am going through my newsfeed on Facebook I will be a “decoder of information” but if I am reading a National Geographic article online I believe that it would create the same “rich mental connections” as when I am reading the actual magazine.

I also do not think that technology is decreasing our writing abilities. I do not believe that my writing has become worse because of my embarrassingly large amount use of Facebook or Tumblr. I know when certain types of writing are appropriate. Andrea Lunsford, in her essay Our Semi-Literate Youth? Not So Fast writes about the effect of new technologies on college students writing abilities. She talks about how we can easily change from levels of formalities whether we are writing a Facebook message to a friend, an email to a professor, or a research paper. Lunsford discusses the impact of new forms of writing (texting, Tweeting, Facebooking) and states that “rather than leading to a new illiteracy, these activities seemed to help them develop a range or repertoire of writing styles, tones, and formats along with a range of abilities”(Lunsford 1).  Because of technology, as Lunsford argues, we are becoming writers with a greater variety of style. We can write a Tweet that is limited to 160 characters or we can write a 1500 word essay. We are also able to quickly switch between styles. Whilst writing this paper I wrote a text message but it did not affect how I am writing this essay; after writing my text I know not to continue writing in shorthand for this essay because it would not be appropriate. Before the Internet and the new technologies associated with it, people would write letters, books, poems, or essays but not much else and now we can write a variety of different text mediums with all different styles.

            Not only is technology helping us to write in a variety of ways but it can also help someone read more often. Technology is helping the amount we read because of how readily available everything is through the Internet. We can find almost every essay, piece of literature, or article online. We also have access to this with the simple click of a button. With the ease of finding something to read online people can read much more frequently and easily. Also, if you just want to read a paragraph of a book you can do that much more easily now and a laptop is much more portable than a few books if you want to read one section from multiple books. Personally, I am much more likely to read something online than I am in a book, magazine, or newspaper. Chris Hedges, in his essay America the Illiterate, argues that majority of our population have become so absorbed by the Internet and how it displays its information that they are “informed by simplistic, childish narratives and clichés”(Hedges 1). It is true that when on the Internet we are more attracted to something that has appealing colours and pictures but that does not mean that we are only interested in websites based on their pictures. Just because someone spends a lot of time on the Internet does not mean that “childish narratives and clichés” are the only thing that they are interested in. Someone could spend hours online reading newspapers, articles, or academic papers. Technology might be affecting people the way Hedges believes but it might also be helping people that did not read before to start reading. People who were reading a lot before technology are still reading a lot with technology. However, someone might not have read a book before but will now read an article every now and then online because they have easy access to it.

            After analyzing these articles my opinion that technology is just changing the way we read and write rather than decreasing our literacy is still valid. Yes, maybe when we are reading something online our eyes might start to look at the colourful advertisement on the right but if we want to read the article we will continue to read it. The same thing can happen when you are reading the newspaper. You might be really involved in an article but something moves outside and grabs your attention but once you realise that whatever moved is not important you will continue to read the article. Within the youth of today we might be spending more time on Facebook or Twitter and less time reading but that does not mean that we cannot read with deep thoughts. This also does not mean that we cannot write as well as we used to before. Lunsford discusses the challenges we, as students, face with the new technologies and claims that “What students need in facing these challenges is not derision or dismissal but solid and informed instruction. And that’s where the real problem may lie—not with student semi-literacy but with that of their teachers”(Lunsford 3). So is it really the students’ problem that some people write ‘lyk dis’ or is it the lack of teaching? I believe that Lunsford’s argument was very harsh but it has some truth in it. It is both the students and the teachers’ problem. If a student is not willing to learn how to read and write effectively there is not much the teacher can do. However, if a teacher is not willing or literate enough to help their students then the fault is with them. Overall, I think the true answer to the debate whether technology is adversely affecting our reading and writing abilities is based on the individual. Literacy is a social achievement but the affect that technology has on that literacy is individual. If someone wants to read and write and learn how to do so at a higher level it is up to him or her. Personally, I want to be able to read and write at a college level and hopefully my time at DU will help me achieve that but this decision is my own and is not the same as every other seventeen year old.