“Texting is a
miraculous thing” according to the TEDTalks Video (as cited in Films Media 2013/2014), and I don’t disagree. The same can be said for the telegraph, the
telephone and the television. Each has a
place in history and sphere of influence on the evolution of the human
intellect. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. First and foremost, there was speech; and
according to TEDTalks “if humanity had existed for 24 hours, writing came along at about
11:07 pm.” Back in Abe Lincoln’s day they spoke like they wrote and was referred
to in this text as “fingered speech”. If that is supposed to be comforting, I
am feeling more than a little distraught when applying his logic to texting as it might be applied to speech in today's world and quite concerned that reading doesn't make his time spectrum at all.
According to Naomi Baron (as cited in Karp, 2010), American University linguistics
professor, we are “producing massive amounts of text compared to what we used
to write; and because of the amount of writing we are doing, we tend to devalue
what we write.” Baron equates it to an “all-you-can-eat
buffet mentality equivalent of empty calories,” and that “zigzagging through a
cornucopia of words, pictures, video and sounds distracts more than strengthens
readers (as cited in Karp, 2010).” Distracted reading like
distracted driving is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. We are all easily distracted in this “automatic
and instant gratification” world that ours has become. It certainly is amazing that after all the
time savers invented, we still have no time to sit down and read
a good book. Studies indicate (as cited in Rich, 2008), according
to a 2004 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation of 8-18 year
olds, nearly half of the 2,032 surveyed spent one hour and 41 minutes a day on the internet. Yet, the National Endowment of the Arts
indicates flat or declining national reading scores (as cited in Rich, 2008).
More isn’t always better and shouldn’t be used as an
excuse for poor craftsmanship regardless of the craft. Just because there are more
tools in the toolbox doesn’t mean the final product is going to be better. As teachers, we need to teach our students to
use the abundance of tools at their disposal to hone their craft and not as a means or an excuse for shoddy work. I could say more and probably say it better,
but I’m out of time!
References
Karp, J. (2010, January 26). Does Digital Media
Make Us Bad Writers? | Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning. Does Digital
Media Make Us Bad Writers? Retrieved from
http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-make-us-bad-writers
Rich, M. (2008, July 26). Literacy Debate:
Online, R U Really Reading? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
(20142013). TEDTalks : Films Media
Group. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvOgW6iV2s&feature=player_embedded
Your comment "Distracted reading like distracted driving is a recipe for disaster." - I absolutely agree! Children need to read and be able to focus and weed out answers effectively.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to your comment: "We are all easily distracted in this “automatic and instant gratification” world that ours has become." I made a similar observation as well linking my conversation to sending out "texts" without proofreading or being sure that what we are sending and posting is what we truly want to represent us. More care should be taken in our written word online so that we are sure we remain professional and accurate in what we are trying to translate to our readers. I sometimes detest this culture we have created where time is easily wasted in our digital lives taking priority over our real-life community of people. It is a growing concern that the connections you make with your phone/device perhaps cause us to miss out on what is "real" and "tangible." Nicely written post, I look forward to reading more. Thanks!