reading respone #3

For my in class essay #1 I discussed how the author of “The New Literacy” failed to mention how important the internet really is for not only writing but reading too. I added that the internet is a gateway to an almost infinite source of text based communication of ideals and interests on just about any subject. It is much easier to get both sides of the story and form your own opinions. People with similar interests in just about anything can join together on an international level to discuss and debate subjects and topics alike, no longer limited to just the people around you. In its entirety the main focus point is about how the internet is making readers and writers on a global level, more open and well informed.
In opposition to my response’s fundamental idea and focus point, Sven Birkerts states in “The Owl Has Flown”, “The computer, our high speed, accessing, storing, and sorting tool, appears, as a godsend. It increasingly determines what kind of information we are willing to traffic in; if something cannot be written in code and transmitted, it cannot be important.”(33) In making this comment, Sven Birkerts is basically stating that people in this day and age and losing interest in books and devaluing them simply because the internet gives people much quicker access to the information that they are essentially looking for. Now I think we can both agree that there is nothing wrong with finding the necessary information you need quickly, but I think that at the core Birkerts is opposing technology because it might cause us to overlook the importance of old literature and to keep it alive for decades to come. There is great writing out there in books that is being overlooked with a quicker and more passive way of seeking useful information.
After reading this, I still believe that technology is making a huge positive impact on modern literacy and with readers and writers globally. But it did make me think about how books should still be well involved in the works of modern writers. While reading this I also took into consideration how books can grab you more and keep you attentive towards the subject at hand, rather than wondering aimlessly through the world of cyber space searching for what you want.