Writing response: Clive Thompson on the new literacy

In this new age of advanced technologies that allow us to communicate with people around the world in just a few seconds, we have seen a dramatic increase in not only the amount of reading and writing done but also how we write and who we write to. This “new literacy” as people like Clive Thompson like to call it, has brought about much controversy. In Clive Thompson's article “on The New Literacy” one of the controversial issues it discusses is whether “texting speak” or other forms of shorthand writing appear in academic writing. Some argue that this is a major problem in young peoples writing, while others say that it is a literacy revolution. A study done by Andrea Lunsford who is a professor at Stanford University, seems to indicate that students do not use “texting language” in academic papers at all. This study however only took place at Stanford University. This leaves people with the question, is this study to narrow, would the outcome change if a wider range of students where used coming from different school? Almost 15,000 documents where reviewed in this study. None of the academic papers from this study contained any form of shorthand, or “texting speak”. “Lunsford also noted that students where remarkably adept at Kairose which is assessing their audience and adapting their tone and technique to best get the point across”. This supports Clive Thompson’s argument that students today write to audiences more than ever before. Students today have no problem changing there style of writing between academic, and “texting speak”.

My own view on this topic is that the internet has made some incredible changes to the way people read and write. I also agree with Lunsford's “literacy Revolution”. I've always believed that the young people today write and read more then ever before. For my whole life I have always heard people say how students today don’t know how to write. Every day I write something down outside of school, whether it is a text, email, Facebook, or just surfing the web I type. When people say that the young people today don't know how to write formally, and when they try to its full of “text language” and shorthand writing. What they don't understand is just how good we young people are at changing our tone, or writing style to fit our needs. We use shorthand writing as a choice not a necessity we can switch back and forth with ease. Other people say that all this “texting” will cause our language to deteriorate into senseless babble. This can not be farther from the truth though, our language constantly changes, and the way we speak right now, would be totally different from how some one spoke it 500 years ago. May be Lunsford is right perhaps we are in a “literacy revolution” it’s obvious that our language is changing, and the internet has increased the speed at which it changes.