Link: http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=17927
Thursday, December 21, 2006 Literacy and Text Messaging How will the next generation read and write? By Kate Baggott
In the age of text messaging, where words are reduced to nonstandard abbreviations and symbols, many people question the future of literacy.
But experts point out that, in fact, technology has put new emphasis on reading and writing.
"A generation ago, a teen who couldn't read well could still participate pretty fully in the social conversation among peers," says Timothy Shanahan, president of the International Reading Association. "But with so much written chatter, being able to read and write have become definite social advantages. There is simply much more pressure to know how to read than in the past when it comes to conversation, shopping, or work."
Shanahan points to the more than 30 billion e-mail messages and 5 billion text messages that are exchanged every day as evidence of how technology "is raising the value of reading in our society, both as an economic and as a social activity."
Experts also say that technology has added new layers to our understanding of what it means to be literate.
"In coming years literacy will mean knowing how to choose between print, image, video, sound, and all the potential combinations they could create to make a particular point with a specific audience," says Bronwyn Williams, associate professor of English at the University of Louisville. "What will not change is the necessity of an individual to be able to find a purpose, correctly analyze an audience, and communicate to that audience with information and in a tone that audience will find persuasive, engaging, and intelligent."
Recent Comments