Blog Discussion Topic #i – Today’s Technology: A Help or a Hindrance?

It’s funny how nowadays the phrase, “lmao! i kno, i was like wth!? omg i cant wait 4 2moro can u? ahhh hold on brb for a sec, k?” would be considered perfectly acceptable sentences for communication between members of our generation. This mutilation of grammar and punctuation is faced everyday by anyone who commonly uses such technologies as MSN or text messaging. This decreased use of proper syntax illustrates the concern that technology is affecting the written language. If people become too habituated to constantly being exposed to very simplified grammar, will they be able to muster up the motivation to read full-lengthed, vocabulary-containing novels? Are other forms of technology threatening the culture of reading?

I personally do not think that the various forms of technology currently in our society are negatively affecting the world of reading. For one, take the concern that with cinematography, many books are presently being realized into movies. The worry is that many people do not have the time, or simply would just rather pay ten bucks to experience the book on the big screen instead of spending a weekend actually reading it. Although this habit no doubt relates many people, I am sure that for others, like myself, the opposite applies. When I find myself watching a movie that I really enjoy or find interesting, often I end up at the nearest bookstore eager to purchase the novel. The Davinci Code, for example, is a novel I had never heard of, and likely never would have, was it not showing at my hometown theatre. I know for a fact that I am not the only one who picked up a copy of the novel after hearing about it or seeing the movie. In this way, technology is clearly altering the culture of reading for the better.

Another way technology has improved today’s reading culture is by making books more accessible. I for one am forever grateful to websites that allow you to order books online. You don’t even need a creditcard; on Chapters.ca, for instance, you can use a giftcard instead, making it that much safer if you are someone who is uncomfortable with typing your Visa or Mastercard number online. This system is wonderful for someone like me, an underaged (ergo creditcard-less) girl who has a tendency to crave books not available in you average bookstore. For many others, too, I am sure that this technology has increased access to books.

Based on the examples I have given, it is clear that technology is not hindering today’s reading culture, in fact, the written world is actually profiting from it. Even though some forms of technology encourage people to communicate with disfigured language such as, “lol, nvm, jk, and ttyl”, there are so many other technologic advances that promote the opposite. And hey, we should cut technology a break. If Gutemberg had not invented the printing press back in 1445, just imagine how lacking the written world would be today!