At the beginning of this lesson I pointed to the idea that technological advances in communication tools have been part of the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, and suggested that this is happening for a number of reasons. I’d like you to consider two aspects of digital literature: 1) social media tools that enable widespread publication, without publishers, and 2) Hypertext, which is the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click. How do you think these capabilities might be impacting literature and story?
In a generation of kids glued to social media and their phones it is no surprise that technology has overwhelmed our society and edged its way into the realm of literature and stories. Unfortunately research found by the National Center for Education Statistics proves that “71 percent of the U.S population age 3 and over used the internet” , this statistic demonstrates how early technology is being used in children’s’ lives. However; though this is a young age, for the older kids in school and adults everywhere, the use of social media and hypertext works creatively but also subtly to open our eyes up to stories we are unable to discover on our own.
Firstly as I previously said, the use of technology is extremely powerful in our society today as it is right at our fingertips and therefore is used in every day life, through computers, laptops, cell phones, e-readers and so much more. Ultimately technology through the various social media platforms allows us readers and listeners to access literature easier than ever before; expanding the resources and opportunities to find and learn new stories as one moves from one website to another.
The endless amount of information that can be found on the internet is broadcast across the internet realm in many different ways, through social media such as Facebook, important news websites and even blogs like this one. The different forms allow for different views and different interpretations of stories that are written depending on the type of platform it is shown on, for example; a story on a news website may be taken more seriously than a story created on one’s blog. However; as Erika explained, as a reader, you can apply independent thinking, and as a listener you have the chance to change the story and this is important as I believe that when reading literature on the internet you are part listener and reader. This concept of being both reader and listener demonstrates the impact that social media tools have upon literature as it is taking the idea of readers and listeners as separate beings to then becoming one. In addition, an important aspect of these stories online is the agency it gives the storyteller as it allows the storyteller the chance to express their story in any form they like without the hassle of going through a publisher who may change their story.
“American legislator wants Canadians banned from driving USA” an article located on the Cbc news website explaining a radio interview is an example of how the storyteller can express their story and how the reader/listener can interpret it. The article explains and grants viewers the opportunity to listen to the interview itself which is between Cbc and American legislator John Grumpart discussing Grumpart’s (ridiculous) views of Canadian drivers and why they should be banned. What this story shows is how fast the social media movement is and that anything written can spread like wildfire in minutes. Most of the viewers believe this story to be true, however; in small writing it can be seen that the story is a satirical one and to not be taken seriously. Overall it demonstrates not only how quickly a story can go viral but also that it is the readers choice on how they interpret it, and in this case it can be shown that not all readers are taking in every detail.
Another way that social media and technology is having an impact on literature is the new various ways that literature can be expressed; not only through written words but also through pictures, songs and videos. I believe that stories can be expressed incredibly through these different forms and thus these possibilities allows us readers/listeners to open our mind to learning stories in a different way that grant us a new details that words cannot perfectly convey.
I use this idea of moving from one website to another with the idea and metaphor of intersections that Erika introduced us to in this lesson, in mind. Intersections in the literal driving sense allows roads to cross one another and allow the driver to change direction and this is exactly what the internet through social media tools allows its users to do. When one is on a website such as Facebook, although they may stay on this website for hours, there are so many distracting ads and links that catch our attention we then end up hopping from one website to another. The moment where we change from one website to another is the intersection, that works only through the use of hypertext. Hypertext are the digital intersections of literature. This chance to find new websites provides us the access to unlimited sources of literature and the possibility of reading stories from all across the world. This impacts literature as it allows us readers to expand our knowledge of literature found around the world and from cultures that we may never knew existed. The possibilities are endless.
Works Cited
“American Legislator Wants Canadians Banned from Driving in USA – Home | This Is That with Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring | CBC Radio.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 2016.
A-Z, By Subject Index. “Fast Facts.” Fast Facts. N.p., n.d.
Hi Bryony-Rose,
Thanks for the post! I enjoyed reading about your perspectives on the impact the internet has on spreading information and on reading/listening. I especially liked the analogy you made between hypertext and intersections, with hypertext being opportunities to delve into a new direction, or pathway, or tangent, of information. This comparison made me wonder about mapping these different relationships/connections and the different potential directions one could take by following these various links (especially for sites that direct you to other sites with more hypertext).
On a related note, in your opening paragraph, you mention that research has “unfortunately” found that 71% of the U.S. population over three years of age uses the internet. I’m curious if you have specific reason behind why you think this is unfortunate? (For instance, do you think it’s unfortunate that so much of the population is using the internet, rather than connecting with others and the broader world in other ways; or do you think it’s unfortunate that a relatively high percentage of the population isn’t accessing it for some reason; or is there some other reason you suggest that this is the case?)
Anyhow, thanks for the post and I look forward to connecting with you soon!
– Kaylie
Hi Bryony-Rose,
Thanks for the post! I enjoyed reading about your perspectives on the impact the internet has on spreading information and on reading/listening. I especially liked the analogy you made between hypertext and intersections, with hypertext being opportunities to delve into a new direction, or pathway, or tangent, of information. This comparison made me wonder about mapping these different relationships/connections and the different potential directions one could take by following these various links (especially for sites that direct you to other sites with more hypertext).
On a related note, in your opening paragraph, you mention that research has “unfortunately” found that 71% of the U.S. population over three years of age uses the internet. I’m curious if you have specific reason behind why you think this is unfortunate? (For instance, do you think it’s unfortunate that so much of the population is using the internet, rather than connecting with others and the broader world in other ways; or do you think it’s unfortunate that a relatively high percentage of the population isn’t accessing it for some reason; or is there some other reason you suggest that this is the case?)
Anyhow, thanks for the post and I look forward to connecting with you soon!
– Kaylie
Hi Kaylie,
I finally found your comment! and thank you for the comment. I believe that this statistic is unfortunate, not on the whole but rather when I focused on the ‘three years of age’ part. I don’t like the fact that the internet and technology is getting introduced to children so early on and three years old is way too early in my opinion. It is so rare now a days to see children simply interacting with each other outside, they are now glues to the phones as soon as they are out of the womb. Of course in certain situations technology and the internet is helpful to the individual but in general I believe technology should be held off from children so they can be a kid, and be a little prevented from realizing all that is out there.
Hey Bryony-Rose! I agree that the internet and the use of hyperlinks opened up the world of literature and basically any kind of text or information to people. You write about a story of which you say most readers believe to be true, when in fact it is not. I would say this is one of the new problems that has arisen with the popularity of the internet. Information is accessible so quickly and hyperlinks so abundant that many people don’t invest much time in any given piece of information. While hyperlinks allow for texts to be deeper and give more detailed information and backgrounds, many readers invest too little time to each piece of information, the attention span of the average user or reader of a piece seems to be very short.
Hi Danielle,
You’re completely right then you discuss the attention span of the average user. I believe that because of the mass amount of information out there people are becoming slightly lazy and unaware of every detail laid out to them as they are to quick to jump from one piece of information to the next. The smaller writing, though it has purposely been made smaller so that the readers will believe this story is true, shows that as a reader we need to be careful when we read online and to make sure we get everything correct before we begin spreading the information around.
Hi Bryony,
You’ve done such a thorough job of touching on the unlimited plethora of choice available to readers in a world of digital media. There are numerous ways to express oneself, and to interpret and interact physically with the expression of others. I’m curious to know in what ways you, as a reader, have been impacted by all this opportunity for decision regarding the information you encounter on a daily, online basis?
Anne
Hi Anne,
Thank you for your comment. There is so many opportunities to come across anything about everything you may want to read in this world simply on the internet so the decision on what to read and how to read it is primarily yours. My personal decision on what information I shall take in and how I interpret it is primarily based on the outcome that I hope to get from it. I choose to read stories and articles, etc. that in some way won’t leave me thinking ‘what the heck have I just read, I feel like I have just lost some brain cells’. As I work through my educational journey the daily encounter of information through the internet can be overwhelming and even distracting but it is the pwoer of the reader to decide what to take in and that is something I am careful on doing as I want information that will educate me and broaden my knowledge in all aspects. Although I will not deny reading things that really are mind-numbingly stupid, we all have our guilty pleasures.