Hi everyone,
For this assignment I chose to answer Question #7: 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?
The popularity of technology and social media in the 21st century has allowed for storytelling to develop and flourish in new ways as more and more options for telling stories appear in the digital world. Social media and hypertext are two components of the digital medium that have shifted the way in which stories are shared and experienced, and have led to changes in the definition of literature as being strictly a printed medium.
While traditional forms of media, such as publishing houses and newspapers for example, continue to produce texts and interest society, social media and the internet have provided new outlets for stories to be told. Social media provides an outlet that is very quick, allowing for posts to reach a wide audience in a matter of seconds and providing an array of options for conveying stories in creative ways. By removing the need for an intermediary, the mode of storytelling allows for more people to be included, as traditional forms of publishing and media have traditionally necessitated for storytellers to be accepted by people in positions of power. With social media, anyone can take the power into their own hands and use it in order to voice their story. With this power also comes the possibility for error and deception in what stories are portrayed online, and the very real negative consequences this can have on society. It is important to notice not only the positive impact on storytelling that media can have, but the negatives as well as these consequences can really influence the mental health and well-being of society.
Social media allows for stories to be told in both written, oral and visual formats, sometimes all at the same time. As a result, this expansion of formats allows for storytellers to be more creative and have more freedom in the different methods they use to convey their voice. For example, the increasing prevalence of podcasts illustrates how technology has helped to popularize oral storytelling. The range of different types of podcasts that are available illustrates how this format of storytelling has something for everyone, and provides a way for orality to merge with digital media. This also allows for individuals who may not otherwise be intrigued by stories in a text format to be immersed in the world of storytelling through a connection with audio.
Hypertext also allows for a very expansive way of storytelling, as the reader can click on a hypertext that will provide further information on a smaller topic that may not have as much prominence in the initial story. As a result, a story can give rise to various other stories that are built upon the various ideas that are hyperlinked in the original text. This sort of expansion provides a framework that allows for faster access to a range of ideas, as it would be more difficult to do so in traditional forms of media. This leads to countless possibilities for new stories to emerge and for one storyteller to give a voice to another.
It is inevitable that evolving technology and communication methods have had a strong impact on storytelling in the 21st century, and will continue to do so in the future. While the way in which stories are shared may be constantly evolving and shifting as new trends come and go, storytelling itself is what remains an integral part of creating connections in our society.
Works Cited
Brown, Jessica. “Is Social Media Bad for You? The Evidence and the Unknowns.” BBC Future, BBC, 5 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns.
Owens, Jakob. “Smartphone in city.” Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/photos/WUmb_eBrpjs.
Walters, Helen. “Looking for a New Podcast to Try? 45 Great Picks from the TED Staff.” TED Blog, 22 May 2015, https://blog.ted.com/45-great-podcast-picks-from-the-ted-staff/.
Hi Indra,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, and I think you raise a lot of interesting points!
Your discussion on the adaptation and evolution of stories amidst the constant shift in technology stood out to me because I hadn’t given this aspect much thought. To quote you about the positive and negative effects of social media, you pointedly note that “anyone can take the power into their own hands and use it in order to voice their story. With this power also comes the possibility for error and deception in what stories are portrayed online.” This is a very notable remark in terms of the immense ‘power,’ as you say, that can be taken on by almost anyone through social media. Not to say that there are not many positives that come with being able to share stories worldwide with a single click, but it is easy to fall into the propaganda of social media. We seem to believe almost anything we read online if it comes from a “verifiable” source or a popular platform, and I find this to be a very negative and, at times, dangerous part of the online world. Do you think that social media has more of a positive or negative effect on stories? Do you think it’s a hindrance and diminishes stories due to the open-access of it?
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for your comments! While it is certainly important to be aware of the negative effect that social media can have, I think that stories are more positively affected by social media overall. I think it’s important for people to take responsibility for both what they post and what accounts they believe to ensure that social media can be used for more good than bad, since I think it’s such a valuable tool. I don’t think the open-access of social media diminishes stories because I feel like although it does mean a huge amount of content is being produced (which can sometimes be hard to keep up and navigate), the ability for stories to reach people across all different backgrounds and even geographical locations is really beneficial. I think the main thing is that hopefully more people will use social media to make meaningful connections rather than use it for negativity.
Thanks for your feedback!
-Indra
Hello Samantha,
Thank you for a thoughtful response to my question; and some interesting hyperlinks, indeed. I Scrolled down on the BBC Future Blog. One of the changes I see with social media is the availability of specialized and categorized information; like the categories on the BBC.com site. And, of course now we have algorithms to consider in terms of how social media is impacting the ways we come to knowledge. Thank you for an excellent response.