the digital age and the book
TRANSCRIPT
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The Digital Age and The Book
James Andrew Burris
History of The Book: 4235
Dr. Alan Rauch
March 9th, 2015
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James Andrew Burris
Dr. Alan Rauch
History of The Book: 4235
March 9th, 2015
The Digital Age and The Book
In a world full of gadgets and gizmos, doodads and doohickeys, and
touchscreens with touch keys, the greatest technology that man is responsible for is
often relegated to afterthought. Many point to the invention of the computer as the
pinnacle human achievement; however the argument will be made for the written
and printed words of the book; text that has been used for education,
communication, and entertainment for the world for centuries. To begin, literacy
itself will be discussed, from literacy of the printed page as well as the digital page.
Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of digital works and printed text
will be addressed, for their advantages often compliment the others deficiencies.
The book is the cornerstone of information technologies, and that spread of
information is possible with literacy.
So, just what is literacy? According to the definition provided by The Oxford
English Dictionary, literacy is defined as, “The ability to read and write; competence
or knowledge in a specified area.” The National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL) further divides literacy, with regards to reading and writing, into four
distinct sections: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient.
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Below basic indicates no more than the most simple and concrete
literacy skills (i.e. signing a form). Basic indicates skills necessary to
perform moderately challenging literacy activities (i.e. selecting
shows from a television guide). Intermediate indicates skills
necessary to perform moderately challenging literacy activities (i.e.
using reference materials to determine which foods contain a
vitamin). Proficient indicates skills necessary to perform more
complex and challenging literacy activities (i.e. comparing viewpoints
in two editorials)(National Assessment of Adult Literacy).
Although it is common today for a large number of people to have intermediate or
proficient literacy levels, the percentage of literate population was considerably
smaller before the printing press enabled the widespread distribution of printed
text. It was not uncommon for the majority of a community to be considered under
the “basic” category of literacy, if not be illiterate altogether, as literacy was a
privilege for the financially elite and those appointed in the church. Today, many of
us enjoy the ability to easily make sense of the surrounding world of text, yet we
have been required to adapt to a new level of literacy based upon recent
technologies that began to immerge to the public during the later part of the
twentieth century. Those technologies centered around the invention of the
personal computer, which spawned a new literacy level that will be described as
digital literacy.
It bears repeating that a definition of literacy, aside from being able to read
and write, is, “competence or knowledge in a specified area, “ and digital literacy is
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just that; being competent and knowledgeable in today’s digital world. Imagine the
first time an illiterate individual picked up a book. Sure, of course this individual
would have to learn the act of reading itself, but they would also need to make sense
of what the book was, what sections the book was divided into, and even something
as basic as reading from left to right or up to down. There are many variables that
are necessary to be navigated in order to read properly, which in today’s society are
often seen as second nature. Technology today has a learning curve as well, but
taken a few steps further. An excerpt from Barbara R. Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L.
Flannigan’s essay, “Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century”, relates
being illiterate digitally to not speaking the native language.
For generations of adults who grew up in a world of books, traveling
through cyberspace seems as treacherous and intimidating as
speaking a new language. In fact, Prensky recognized such non-IT-
literate individuals as burdened with an accent – non-native speakers
of a language, struggling to survive in a strange new world.
(Jones-Kavalier)
Visiting a foreign country where the native tongue is not learned can be an
overwhelming experience, and those not digitally literate can feel the same way. To
give a direct example of this, I will use experiences from a job I recently had working
in the mobile technology business. My colleagues and I worked face to face with
customers, from all ages and backgrounds, and different levels of expertise. The two
most polarized groups of people were the technology savvy individuals, being raised
during this mobile computing era, and those who lived the majority of their lives
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without using this new technology. When we asked one of those that were familiar
with their device to find some type of information, the answer would typically arrive
within seconds and with ease. On the opposite end of the spectrum, asking a person
the same question, that was less familiar, or just starting to use this mobile
technology, typically resulted in a return question pertaining to how they would
navigate their device to find the identical information. This showed the barrier that
existed: both types of individuals had the same information in their hands, but only
one could make sense of it because they had the skill of digital literacy. This showed
a considerable crux to this technology; a separation between a person and the
knowledge they seek. As important as it is to be digitally literate, to be able to access
a wealth of knowledge by navigating our digital devices, it still remains that there
are drawbacks to this technology, and there are strengths that the printed word has
over its digital brother that cannot be denied.
There are multiple drawbacks to digital technology when compared to book
technology. Being literate is to have an understanding and to be competent, and it is
natural that with fewer steps or aspects to learn, that it will be easier to become
literate. The digital age has added steps to the process of obtaining information:
once these steps are learned, they become easy to navigate, but computer
technology is constantly changing and advancing, which requires learning all over
again and adapting with the times. In contrast, books do not have an operating
system to navigate, updates to install, and rarely, if ever run out of power!
Additionally, most of the latest technology is expensive to purchase; much like
purchasing books in the early stages of printing, making it a challenge for the
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majority of the world to become digitally literate. Even if one were to purchase a
computer or portable e-reader, they have to purchase the device and then purchase
their digital copy of the book. In comparison, if you want to purchase a book, you
just buy the book, and in many situations a less expensive used version can be found
to make the purchase more economical. One of the main blessings and curses of
digital technology however, is the way it promotes divided attention. A laptop, for
instance, allows you to have multiple windows open at one time and the web
browser contains link after link that can be clicked on to travel from one website to
another. In Naomi S. Baron’s article entitled, “The Plague of tl;dr,” she perfectly
summarizes the type of reading we do on computers, e-readers, tablets, and mobile
phones.
When reading on-screen, we can rapidly click or scroll our way from
page to page within a document. We are able to connect with the
outside world, to hop from site to site, to multitask. Sustained
concentration, analysis, and rereading are not encouraged. Electronic
devices are excellent helpmates for searching and skimming. (Who
among us would part with the "find" function?) With the exception of
e-readers that are built sans Internet connection, digital devices
constitutionally discourage linear, continuous reading.
(Baron)
The last line ends in perfect summary: “…digital devices constitutionally discourage
linear, continuous reading.” A physical book is built with the goal of staying on task.
If one were to read a book about the Civil War, they would read and learn about the
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Civil War; they could not turn the page and change the topic as they went along.
Quickly moving from one topic to the next is further reinforced by the impact
technology has physically on the user as well as Baron also indicates by saying,
“Screens work handily for most short pieces or for content we don’t intend to
ponder. However, e-reading tends to be a poor fit for longer works (especially
heavy-duty nonfiction and literature demanding close reading) or even short ones
meriting serious thought.”(Baron). Reading on small, backlit screens is not easy on
the reader, as it can cause eye fatigue as well, making it a less than desirable choice
for reading material for an extended time. The book holds a clear advantage to
digital technology in many areas, and is more well thought out and advanced than
our world today might think.
In our society, where anything with a battery tends to grab our attention if
even for a fleeting moment, the technology of the book brings substance and focus
to a world that lacks it. There is a timeless magic to them, and they are much more
sophisticated and complex than we give them credit for.
Books may look like nothing more than words on a page, but they are
actually an infinitely complex imaginotransference technology that
translates odd, inky squiggles into pictures inside your head.
- Jasper Ffode
The book is the truest form of what we attempt to use our high tech computers for:
to obtain a wealth of information and to learn more about our world. We use our
devices in the digital age to give us access to the information we desire, but by their
design, they lead us away from our goals with distractions of others. One of the most
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powerful skills in life is to become proficiently literate, yet in this digital age it is
required to become digitally literate so that we may use that proficient literacy! A
new skill must be learned in order to use a skill we already obtained; to make sense
of navigating a new vehicle to get to a familiar plot of land; new table etiquette to be
followed before we may be nourished by the food at the table. The book allows us to
go directly to that nourishment and remove the middleman, and because of this the
book sustains its importance, its prevalence, in our world today.
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Works Cited
1. Baron, Naomi. "The Plague of Tl;dr." The Chronicle of Higher Education. 9 Feb.
2015. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://m.chronicle.com/article/The-Plague-of-tl-
dr/151635>.
2. Fforde, Jasper. "50 Most Popular Technology Quotes." Ebook Friendly. Piotr
Kowalczyk, 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://ebookfriendly.com/best-
technology-quotes/>.
3. Jones-Kavalier, Barbara. "Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st
Century." Educause Review. Educause, 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/connecting-digital-dots-literacy-
21st-century>.
4. "Overview of the Literacy Levels." National Center for Education Statistics -
National Assessment of Adult Literacy. U.S. Department of Education. Web. 7
Mar. 2015. <https://nces.ed.gov/NAAl/perf_levels.asp>.
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