Literacy
Within An Adapting Society
Do
you really believe that we are becoming illerate? Or are we just developing
different methods and styles to maintain the status of literacy we’ve acquired while
allowing it to adapt to modern society? Throughout the readings I’ve come to
the conclusion that literacy cannot be easily defined. It holds a different
value to every individual. How many hours a week do you spend sifting through
your Facebook newsfeed, reading over multiple comments left on a picture of
your ex? You may not be consuming the words of an award-winning novel but
you’re still reading. We live in an age that feeds off of negativity. Our
brains, with a little help from the media, have been wired to believe that bad
news is good news. The tiniest hint that
technology is destroying the minds of society would surely have a snowball
effect. I’d be willing to bet that you became so enthralled with such a story
that you missed the obvious; humans have been adapting their standards and
methods of literacy since the very beginning. Why would such a detrimental
human instinct change now? New technologies have benefited society in such a
way that allows us to be adaptable in both reading and writing settings. As the
“longitudinal study of writing at Standford” showed, we are fully capable of
transitioning from informal to formal (Lunsford). Let our generation check Facebook and Blog; we
may be more literate than you suspect and I’m going to prove it to you.
I’ve
watched you hunched over the computer, devouring Hedge’s words from his
ridiculous article. It’s a little ironic that you’re falling into his
stereotype of an illiterate American by reading his words online. Simply
because you are not holding a tangible, print-based book in your hands you
would fall into Hedge’s category of “the
other America, which constitutes the majority, exists in a non-reality-based
belief system. This America, dependent on skillfully manipulated images for
information, has severed itself from the literate, print-based culture”
(Hedges). Hedge’s entitlement has completely blinded his faith for America.
Since our generation is surrounded by technology I suppose he would categorize
our class as illiterate. Now, I don’t know about you, but I see a group of
talented writers who just so happen to blog. He sees the majority of us as
mindless robots that “cannot differentiate between lies and truth” and are
“thrown into confusion by ambiguity, nuance and self-reflection” (Hedges). If
you’re going to sit there and agree with this type of argument, you may as well
delete your twitter account and start purchasing the entire works of Ernest
Hemmingway, whose writing “style is simple, direct and somewhat
plain” and was often riddled with grammatical errors (Cooper). Hedge’s connections with literacy and political campaigns
are rather insulting to the entirety of America. You would think because of how
well read and scholarly he is that he’d understand that humans have not
necessarily changed, we’ve only adapted to our environment. He would also know
that those who do fall under the widely accepted definition of illiterate often
couldn’t help it. Shribner asks, “Does
the prevailing distribution of literacy conform to standards of social justice
and human progress?” (Shribner). I would argue yes. Condemning individuals as
illiterate is in fact oppressive. Schools within America are incredibly
disproportioned due to tax dollars and the social status of certain areas. The
small percentages of American’s that are actually illiterate are often unable
to fix their situation because they do not have the means or legality to do so.
If you’re going to side with Hedge’s and toss around such an oppressive word as
a blanket term to describe people who interact with social media than I suggest
you do some research on how different your life may have been if you were born
in East St. Louis, New York.
Hedge’s need to mark this
technological age as something new and frightening just goes to show how stubborn
he truly is. He states, “Political leaders in our post-literate society no
longer need to be competent, sincere or honest. They only need to appear to
have these qualities” (Hedges). I’m sorry, I was under the impression that
politician’s have always been like this. American’s wouldn’t have had so many
mudslingers back in the 1800s if our politicians had been so saint-like.
Granted, there will be groups of people who are gullible and easily influenced
by these individuals of power but this is nothing new. Do you honestly believe
that we all became sheep because of the iPad release? The possibility that we
are changing the way we read and analyze a text is far more likely and
agreeable than Hedge’s extremity of illiteracy.
Nicholas Carr writes about
his personal experience from technology. He reflects, “My concentration
often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread,
begin looking for something else to do” (Carr). Carr’s own narrative proves my
point that our brains are constantly adapting to our environment. Can’t you see
that we’re not becoming wordless savages? We haven’t lost the ability to
comprehend a text we’re just changing how we access it. Technology is not some
inherent evil; it’s a useful tool that has allowed us to preform tasks as ease.
Just as the cavemen discovered fire, technology has allowed for “Research that
once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be
done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks” and
you’re done (Carr). Think about our class; we use technology for it almost
every day through the forms of blogging, looking up news stories, and reading
articles. I doubt all of that time online is causing our brain to dumb itself
down. Sure, we might open up a tab to check what the score for the game is…but
why shouldn’t we? If the option to do so is there and we can still be ensured a
solid grade I see no problem in the matter. Andrew Sullivan considers blogging
to be a legitimate form of writing and expressing ideas. He argues, “writing in
this new form is a collective enterprise as much as it is an individual one—and
the connections between bloggers are as important as the content on the blogs.
The links not only drive conversation, they drive readers” (Sullivan). I
completely agree with Sullivan. Our weekly blog posts have not only fueled us
to write and interact with a piece of text, but they have also allowed us to
read what others have to say and gather information from their perspectives. Do
you still consider us illiterate just because we’ve adapted to this new and
conventional world of technology? Why I
Blog also discusses the marriage between reading from the Internet and
tangible text. Blogging “has exposed a hunger and need for traditional writing”
(Sullivan). So if you still don’t believe me, feel free to meet up with Hedge’s
at Starbucks and cry about the illiterate America over a copy of “Fahrenheit
451”.
The effects of
technology have not caused society as a whole to struggle through a text, the
effects have actually given us the ability to stylize, add tone, and bring our
writing to life. In the study that
Lunsford and her colleagues conducted, they found that the students “were
increasingly aware of those to whom they were writing and adjusted their
writing styles to suit the occasion and the audience” (Lunsford). Such ability
has risen thanks to our interaction with technology. We live in a world where
we approach people and situations differently depending on their relationship
to one another and the same rule applies to writing. In fact, “young people are
for the most part aware of the context and audience for their writing- and they
make the adjustments necessary to address them effectively” (Lunsford). Would
you go up to your professor and hand them a beer in front of the entire class?
Of course not, that would be an example of breaching formal with informal. We
have the wherewithal to distinguish when it is appropriate to use a smiley face
in a text and when we have to break out the semicolon. Not only have we developed the ability to
adapt to our writing audiences, but we have also developed a sense of tone in
all writing pieces. Blogging “will inevitably be formed by the blogger’s
personality. The blogosphere may, in fact, be the least veiled of any forum in
which a writer dares to express himself” (Sullivan). I truly believe that we,
as a society, have adapted to this technology and used it to our advantage. So
you think we’re easily distracted? Maybe we are. However, to call a majority of
American’s illiterate is offensive to people of all reading levels. As I’ve
stated on my blog, As long as formal writing
is taught in school and the education system reforms itself to provide
sufficient means to ensure literacy I don't think we have a problem. We have
the ability to switch our writing from formal to informal. As a whole, society
is fully capable of grasping writing requirements for their audience. Google
isn't making us stupid. Social media isn't ruining our writing. Text messaging
won't make us fail our written final exam. We aren't calling our professors
"bro" and inviting them to a sick party. We are a literate America
simply transforming the way we write.
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