In the article, “The New Literacy” by Clive Thompson, he discusses whether today’s generation is becoming illiterate compared to previous generations, which is claimed by some. He also discusses if technology is the one to blame. He uses research from Andrea Lunsford who conducted the Stanford Study of Writing that studied thousands of students writing habits.
Clive reported Lunsford saying how technology of this younger generation is reviving the ability to write by pushing us forward into a new literacy revolution. She went on saying how youth of today write far more than generations before them. Lunsford explains that this is happening because of all the socializing that takes place on the internet. Socializing online helps the writer write a freeer expressions of their opinions. Looking at previouse generations, most people after high school never worte unless they chose a carree which required writing.
When students write an acedemic paper it is only for an audience of one like their professor or to just get a grade. This makes the student feel the paper has no purpose and there is no cause to write the paper. Lunsford states that the internet in general is changing the way people write because they now have a greater audience to write too. Since there is a bigger and more diverse audience online students feel they have a greater purpose to write and feel that it will actualy be heard and the possibility to make a difference in the world.
Ofcourse Lunsford says that good teachings is always needed to help student write and develope proper prose, but Lunsford’s studies show that students in this generation are still using proper prose.
My view is that technology hasen’t ruined our generations ability to write but has only helped us develop a new style of writring. I think that technology has made writing faster and easily accessable. My own personal excperiances show me that with out technology I know for a fact I wouldn’t write as much as I do now. I feel that technology has given me a purpose to write and that there is some one out there who will listen.
Although some might object that technology has made our generation lazy and impacient, but I reply that it is only helping us by increasing the amount we right. With technology we can express the way we write in a faster motion and if we have it why not use it?
Former generations feel that we can’t write and using technology we are almost cheating in their eyes. They believe that our writing prose is changing and technology it to blame. I think that we can only benefit from the change and using technology to help us.
The issue is important because it shows us the differences in writing between our generation and those from the past. If past generations feel that technology is changing our writing for the worse, maybe this article can shied some in sight on our new style of writing and why it is changed?
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