Writ Rough Draft

Brady Hargrove

1/29/12

Writ Essay

Audience:

I have to decided to chose my parents generation (40-60 years old) because they are the generation who has been through the introduction and entire life of the Internet and computers, and they were born when TV’s were first being debated upon. I chose this audience because I think it will be easier to appeal to them rationally since I can relate the topic with the introduction of the TV. Also this generation has been here through it all so I can provide a personal view from a separate age group that has only grown up with computers and the Internet.

Reading and Writing With the Internet

The reading and writing that goes on throughout the Internet is far more extensive than anyone could imagine.  Even down to the very basics of computers as a whole and the fact that any function on a computer is taking place because a previously written code, and the Internet actually is made of letters at its most basic form. But what seems to become the pressing issue as these technologies keep progressing is what kind of effects do they have on us humans? Its clear to see many negatives and positives for the Internet; and maybe that is what makes this question so hard to find a good concrete answer for, because humans are so imperfect we can mess up in so many ways that it makes it easy to argue for both points. Also the Internet seems to get more creative and different everyday that it is hard to predict the future of where the Internet will go next, it has almost endless possibilities from what we’ve seen so far. It is undoubtedly true we are reading and writing far more in the Internet era than any other before but it is also true that writing has become simplified and much shorter in length. The Internet might be changing things more than we know.

With the Internet being so complex anymore it is hard to think of all the ways people can communicate using it such as social sites, e-mail, blogging, Skype, and who knows what else. We are able to read and write so much more than we were ever able to before Internet and it makes it easy to stay connected with old friends and still be apart of each other’s lives. Andrew Sullivan describes some of this communication in his article “Why I Blog” and explains a lot of the positive things that comes from his blogging. This new sort of communication gives you an audience of ANY other person who has access to the Internet and leaves room for the conversation to keep going and completely explore the topic being talked about in the blog or where ever someone may have posted it. Its true while having blogs fends for a much less formal and much less in depth analysis about a topic coming from that one person, but once everyone has commented and put there ideas back into the topic, then the length has increased and you also have the opinions of others to helped broaden your understanding in an interesting and conversional way rather than going and reading something out of text book. The writing has become shorter because with almost all the worlds information on the Internet for anyone to see has made it easier to go directly to an answer instead having to previously read a twenty page long explanation to get an answer. Its shorter because the Internet has made it so much easier for everyone to access information and leaving more space in our brains for useful information that may have been previously used up by long and strung out explanations, because people can now all synthesize together and come up with the best and simplest explanation to post on wiki that will still get you the same results. The new communication has undoubtedly helped the learning and processing of information and made it easier for people to share their ideas.

Others may have a different opinion such as Chris Hedges who wrote the article “America the Illiterate.” Hedges believes that this shorter and less formal writing style is making our brains worse at being able to read long text. It is hard to believe that because you read shorter text that it will make so you can no longer focus and stay concentrated one single writing for too long. This brings me back also to the idea that with more conversation you really are reading just as much. Take Facebook as a good example since people are able to sit on their for hours and have all sorts of conversations with their friends is still reading and writing for hours. Yes it is true that we normally do not stay focused on one single topic for very long but it is because our curious minds that we want to learn more things and change to different topics to read about. With the Internet we are able to let our curiosity run wild and make it so we are able to read about any topic at any time that we may have on our minds. Even as I am writing this paper I am bouncing around from Website to Website interacting with my friends, doing homework for other classes, or looking something up on Google that I heard about from someone yesterday. Many would say that these are all distractions taking me from my work but I use it as a way to keep my mind fresh and not get stuck on the same topic with no idea where to go. We know everything can be connected in same way and I think the Internet gives you the tools to do so, and that is why you can find inspiration on the Internet so easily and help get new ideas to expand on the piece you are writing.

The Internet is a great tool for daily life. And the thing about the Internet is that as Mark Zuckerberg said with Facebook “…it’s cool…” because we cannot predict the future of where the Internet will go next and what new doors it will open for us. We almost do not need TVs, cell phones, or other electronic devise other than a computer because the Internet can do anything for you. It is the Swiss Army Knife of electronics, an all in one. The Internet has away of being ahead of the game and setting the trends that run our social lives. Many jobs use the Internet at all times and would now be nearly useless without. But that is where the problem lies I believe; the Internet is not making us dumber but instead being taken advantage of. If the Internet was a place without pornography, illegal downloading, or a place to buy your next essay then I do not think people would care enough to complain about the other sort of writing that goes on within it because the Internet would not be as big as it is. When TVs were first being introduced many did not think this would be good for humans but the TV helped change everything and help keep people informed and send messages to people all over. Yes it has its misuses also and can be a waste of time but what you must realize it is not the Internet sitting there forcing you to stay online but instead people continuing to stay on because they are fascinated with what we see. The Internet can be used as a bad tool but so can anything else and it is not the Internets fault but the humans who run the Internet and make all these sites.

Having only grown up with having the Internet it makes me think how much harder it would be without it but we all do that. And the worst part is that is very possible and so many other people did live without, but that is how humans evolve, we started with language, then pictures, writing, books, the printing press, the television, and now the Internet. Our form of writing may be changing but it always has been and always will. It is a weird realization that one day there will be something that will be more integrated into our lives than Internet and have a far larger impact than the Internet did, but it is always great because it is a sign of evolution and way for people to make there lives more simple and give them an easier way of gathering information.  The Interne has changed the way humans interact for the time being until some new technology comes out but we can see the Internet as a sign towards a better more well educated world that may one day solve many of its problems and reach more of a Utopia planet because of the information we are able to share on the Internet, but still know we can never reach the Utopia with the imperfections of humans.

Sincerely an official blogger

Over these past few weeks of blogging I have learned a lot about the many different facets of writing that exist now a days and how those can make a positive and negative impact on our lives. But I don’t want to talk about that because I think everyone should figure out for themselves how they want to use the Internet in their lives (I’ve come to this conclusion from reading all these whiney and few interesting articles). So far these blogs have taught me a lot though through all the whining and that is that there is are numerous positives for all these new technologies and that is all that matters. As Joe Rogan once said “I can take a fork and jam it in my eye, so does that mean we should outlaw forks?” I feel as though people think because they can bring up negatives out an object anymore than people should just stay away from that, and that I believe is becoming a much bigger problem in the US of close mindedness. We must learn to use the Internet properly and even though it can be abused, just like a fork, doesn’t mean it is bad for all, and for the majority I think has made significant positive impacts on peoples daily lives.

Throughout these blog posts I also have noticed myself writing and reading much more about current events and keeping involved, because I can now clearly see how the Internet is a very convent place and gives you the possibility to have a conversation with anyone else in the World that is connected to it. This blogs have given me a place to express my thoughts and may not have helped improve my formal writing skills but they have helped me to learn how to put my thoughts in my head down on paper much easier and in a way that makes more sense. I do find it very interesting though that I have free will to voice my opinion on this blog but haven’t had the courage yet to post the link to my Facebook for all the read quite possibly because I am still scared of what people may say about ideas even though I shouldn’t care and would benefit more probably from people commenting with different ideas. I guess I Just haven’t learned how to keep the conversation going quite yet…. 

Literacy... more than a word

Scribner’s article “Literacy in Three Metaphors” was a good insightful article that helps broaden the full understanding of literacy. She explains so many different possibilities that can go with literacy and expands literacy far beyond just reading and writing. Once I read this I was very pleased because it tied into the conversation my group had in class about “America the Illiterate”. While we were discussing the article we brought up the point of what does it mean to be “illiterate” and how can someone decide whether all the knowledge someone has is enough to literate or illiterate. Just as Scribner’s article brought up it goes much deeper than just simple reading and writing to be literate. If someone holds a steady job, supports a family, and has no trouble communicating in daily life but never graduated high school make them illiterate? I hope the clear answer is no… Everybody lives different lives with completely different personalities so we cannot expect everyone to make the “traditional” journey through high school then on to college, it would be pointless for many people who might not pursue a career not requires a degree or a job that would not benefit from any learning past middle school. We live in America so we can the freedom to choose what path we want to take in life. I do not live in America so I can be turned into some controlled genius that knows every fact in the world and is perfect. We are all born with flaws for a reason, and I think it is to make life more enjoyable and worth living; because in a perfect world what would be the point or next benchmark to strive for. I could care less if I pay someone to sharpen my ski edges and wax my bases is “illiterate” as long as the job gets done. People just need to quit bitching at every change that is taking place, cars, Internet, cell phones, iPods, or anything new that is helping evolve man kind. We never stay the same and never will but some people just can’t wrap their minds around that idea. And if we evolve for worse or better there’s no way of knowing until you try it. I can’t wait until some new technology comes out and people can start writing about how that is going to take over the world. Scribner gives a good much broader sense of literacy that makes much more sense. Also that we have been writing more now than ever because of these new facets of technology, and at this point who knows whether it will be good or bad for man in the long run since our writing seems less in depth   but shit we have to give it a shot and who knows maybe we have found a quicker, easier, less dense, and methodical way of learning that can help clear space in our minds for information we need as we continue moving through our lives. I guess what I’m trying to say is whether America is illiterate or not it’s their God given right to choose to be that way and people who are complaining about this should realize the world is changing and these new technologies create huge amounts of jobs, and if you don’t like them then don’t use them and quit complaining!

American the Illiterate?

As I read the article I found it harder and harder to disagree with these ideas because he was even coming up with statistical facts that helped to back his ideas. And it was clear that it had to be true that many more people were becoming illiterate, but then I began to think of other things that would also cause this problem. The national population will always continue to rise to which gives people giving that want to show increasing statistics about population a big advantage. Also this would cause a chain reaction possibly to not having enough resources for the entire population, which would inflate prices and send people into a higher poverty level. This is again was ironic because I was reading possible reading something that the text was warning me not to read. This text was not written at the highest reading level that I have read lately and was very short in length. It was also possible giving me false information just so I would believe it. But I am not surprised by this because the text would probably have a target audience of who he is talking about, the illiterate, so he sets his writing up to suck the illiterate into believing his ideas.

This would also support my next ide that many literate people may disagree with his ideas of why America is becoming illiterate. I would argue that first and foremost that humans are evolving and it is better we try to evolve as fast as possible to help keep up with exponential increase in the worlds population, to make sure we can evolve at an equal to keep up. Stay where we are wont help to move forward for the much more populated generations that may come after us, otherwise we would have to find away to lower population rates. Another reason could be that this generation is lazier and have a shorter attention span for learning. The educated and literate would fend that if they were able to do it then so should everybody else. The idea may be to far the other way so we must find a medium to help balance out equal opportunity for the growing population. And if the ideas work but take to much commitment from a possibly increasingly lazy generation then it is our own fault. 

Is Google making us dumb?

I found it quite ironic as I began to read this article because just before I had started to read I had to scroll through the entire article first to find out how much I would be reading. What I later noticed though is I had scrolled through the article first to see how much time I would be expecting to read. The length of the article had no implication on whether I would be able to focus the entire time and read it. Now I am not claiming myself as a avid reader of novels, but if texts interest me than I will continue reading until I feel it has satisfied interest and anything else may as well just be a waste of time.

Another thing I did find interesting is that early in the day I had decided to limit my use to certain sites on the Internet in order to use them in a more useful way. What had inspired this choice was the blogs from early this week about how using Facebook and other sites can be useful just as long as they are not abused. This would fend for the ideas of Google to make the Internet a place to gain knowledge of any sorts. And I also believe that this wont let the Internet take over our minds because humans are the ones programming the Internet and expanding it, not the Internet being able to expand upon itself. The Internet search engines are a place for straightforward answers that would normally be used for scholarly work, it cannot be made into a place that can read sarcasm, have a heart to heart conversation with, or keep secrets. Humans will always have abilities that the Internet cannot and that is what separates us. The only way the Internet can become bad for us is if we misuse it, which can only be done by the control of humans and their self will.