Extended Essay 1 Draft

The Modern Literate

In our modern world reading and writing, along with almost all other aspects of life, has become much different than previous eras. There are some who assert that the path we are heading down is a dumbed-down anti-intellectual society, while others hold that overwhelming progress has been made. Much of the shift in the way we read and write has been caused by the digitalization of our everyday lives. The good side of the instant access to copious amounts of information online or other technological sources is that it gives the logical, critical-thinking individual the ability to collect and analyze data with much more efficiency and depth, but the negatives of this modern access to information can inhibit one’s ability to think critically and often times leads the person to misinformation and lack of focus.

            With the ability to scan numerous amounts of information with ease comes the ability to understand and analyze the world to unprecedented heights. Through this, one can become a far better reader and writer. According to Netcraft’s March 2012 survey, there are over 644 million active websites worldwide, and growing exponentially. With that mind-blowing statistic, one could easily understand that the Internet holds vast amounts of information- much seemingly useless, but with additions like Wikipedia and other fact-based information centers, the Internet is an ever-expanding database for humanity. Unlike books that can be destroyed, decayed, and take years to write and put together, information on the internet is often a collection of knowledge between individuals confirmed through previous writings. With such a variation in the syntax and styles of writing and presenting information comes the ability to incorporate these styles into the reader’s own writing. The modern digital age has not just allowed for the ability for individuals to become far better at reading and writing, but has given the opportunity for individuals to learn how to read and write much easier. In the present, there are ample amounts of technologies and tools that not only allow people to learn how to read and write much faster, but to also truly grasp what reading and writing is meant to be. When there are more people who can read and write, the more intellectual information there will be in society and that in turn fuels the exponential growth of data and knowledge available for reading and analyzing. This technological era has greatly aided the overall reading and writing process for individuals who have chosen to use it wisely.

However, there have been many negative implications of the modern era in respect to reading and writing. In a less formal way of determining reading and writing skills, this modern era has affected the way we think and, by cause and effect, has changed the way we read and write as well. With this instant access to not only information, but also everything in life, we have become a more impatient people. In todays world, we need what we want right here, right now. According to Statisticbrain.com, the average person reads 111 words on a website before leaving that page. Specific businesses like Google, Facebook, fast food establishments, and various television networks have reduced our attention spans towards all aspects of time. In Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Mind-blowing statistics provided in this piece shed light on the current literacy situation in America: 50 million adults read at a 4^th or 5^th grade level, nearly one in three Americans are illiterate or barely literate, and in 2007 80 percent of families in America did not purchase a book. These outrageous statists, grouped with the modern media push towards non-intellectual news and the new digital era, a sort of perfect storm has begun to brew. Most people in America become infuriated if a webpage takes longer than a few seconds to load, and if we don’t have perfect phone reception it is as if the apocalypse has arrived. The world has started spinning faster and we demand connectivity to everything at all times. This can be very good for the world but it also causes problems. When someone is on the Internet and they are looking through web pages, people think they don’t have time to sit and read thousands words, so they scan and keep skimming web pages until they find one that they are interested in, at least enough to hold his or her attention for more than 60 seconds.

There are some individuals who have very strong stances on our modern society and a perfect example can be found in the movie God Bless America. Frank, the main character, says to a coworker:

I mean, nobody talks about anything anymore. They just regurgitate everything they see on TV, or hear on the radio or watch on the web. When was the last time you had a real conversation with someone without somebody texting or looking at a screen or a monitor over your head? You know, a conversation about something that wasn't celebrities, gossip, sports, or pop politics. You know, something important, something personal.

Much of society consists of readers who just want the shock and awe stories that are short and to-the-point. We spend the vast majority of our writing time texting, tweeting, emailing, and blogging and all of these mediums demand little deep analytical thought. Who wants to read a three-page academic article anymore? It is very true that in our modern society we celebrate and reward the idiotic, the crazy, and the seemingly uneducated. Does it make us feel better about our own lives by watching the train wreck existences these people lead or is it because we lack the civilized social behavior that we idealistically should champion?

            Regardless, these factors all contribute to the shift in the way we read and write as a society. When we want everything fast, easy, and not complicated, popular writing and rhetoric follow suit. Magazines, news broadcasts, papers, and other literature have all turned to this new fast paced and simplified form of expressing opinions and illuminating worldly events. When you read any newspaper you will find articles on things that have no intellectual value at all. This is because people enjoy reading the shocking stories, the horrible disasters, and the public rage outbursts of celebrities and other “famous” people. In our society we have dedicated television stations just for keeping up with Hollywood celebrities that do nothing for the average citizen. They are simply shiny pieces of plastic for people to “ooh” and “ahh” over. Many people choose to read and write about subjects such as these because that is what is popular and that is what sells. By effect writing becomes dumbed down. The intellectual news organization that doesn’t focus on what happened on American Idol last night rarely gets the attention it deserves. When there are more votes in a singing competition than the presidential election that’s when one should feel very concerned.

Many writers and artists pride themselves on being edgy and truthful but yet again Frank denounces such claims because he says they perform and write,” all under the guise of being edgy, but that's not the edge. That's what sells. They couldn't possibly pander any harder or be more commercially mainstream, because this is the "Oh no, you didn't say that!" generation, where a shocking comment has more weight than the truth.” Frank puts it it perfectly- the politically incorrect writers and entertainers are what grab the attention of millions of people, whereas truthful non-theatrical informational articles, for the most part, are tossed aside. Perhaps this has come to be by a sort of rebellion against the wave of “political correctness” and “equality” sweeping the western world. Perhaps people require some sort of disorder amongst the order of their everyday lives. Regardless, the path we are heading down in terms of reading and writing does not seem to be the path of a “Golden Age” of literature.

Any individual who observes this perfect storm of the disturbing literacy rates in America, the focus on short non-intellectual stories and information, and the digitalization of our everyday lives would see that we have a clear choice to make- a fork in the road. We have created a world were one can access any information he or she wants almost instantly. What and how we read and write will determine not only the literary legacy this era leaves behind, but it will also affect every aspect of our lives.

In our modern times, reading and writing have changed immensely. With the digitalization of our everyday lives, we have grown accustomed to instant access to various goods and services. Idealistically, such services like the Internet can be used to push the boundaries of knowledge and understanding, but idealism is rarely ever reality. Our impatience has led news organizations, television broadcasts, and other media to simplify its contents and add emphasis on shocking and non-intellectual stories and events. When the media and popular culture place heavy focus on things like celebrities the public follows the leaders. Yes there are many individuals who have greatly benefited from this new technological age, but reading and writing as a whole has most definitely changed in a way that most wouldn’t categorize as better than the predecessors.