In 2016, a troubling and harmful increase of literacy deserts is being seen across the United States. Emily Hoerner defines a literacy desert in her 2015 article “A Novel Idea: Fostering Literacy by Eliminating Book Deserts” as an area “where children and parents lack access to quality books.” Literacy deserts occur due to lack of reading materials and a growing loss of interest in reading. Literacy deserts are prevalent in low-income and urban neighborhoods where both children and adults have little to no access to quality reading material. While a literacy desert is prevalent in low-income neighborhoods, they are also seen when technology has taken over the children’s interest in reading outside of assigned school reading which leads to a …show more content…
Where a student once had to travel to the local library or bookstore to find information, they can now find information almost instantly in their “smart” phone. In this technological age “we are raising our children in a multimedia environment. Before writing and books, information was carried in songs, dance, and storytelling. Today, the average person has a cornucopia of information readily available at home.” (Withrow 44). Anyone in possession of a computer, digital e-reader, laptop, or “smart” phone has an almost immediate access to any kind of information they are seeking. In today’s society, a two-year-old child knows how to operate a tablet or “smart” phone before they know how to read. It is this interest in technology that leads to a decline in reading as children age. Where once it would take hours to find information, there is now an almost immediate response to queries. Through the instant gratification technology provides, children begin to lose interest in reading. According to Michael, the disinterest in reading is “because reading takes time, and we have an instant gratification generation who can’t wait to read the book when they can just watch the movie” (Michael). Instead of spending days discovering a new world in a book, a child can instead spend a couple hours in front of a television and watch …show more content…
In Raksha Shetty’s CBS News article, “Hugh Decline in Book Reading.,” he interviewed, Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), about the decline in students reading for fun. Gioia states that “what we’re seeing is an enormous cultural shift from print media to electronic media, and the unintended consequence of that shift” (qtd. in Shetty) There has been a huge increase in technology available to today’s youth. Now, as a nation, the issue of those who can read and can not it no longer an issue of can not read but will not read. According to Gale Harrington, a ninth grade College Preparation English teacher in Solano County, “younger generations are just more focused on social networking than most other things,” when asked about the decline in her students reading (Harrington). The youth of today has access to more technology than any other generation before them and they are using it avidly to the detriment of their literary drive and abilities. They will instead spend hours each day watching television and movies, play video games, or even “surfing” the world wide
In the article “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy,” writer Clive Thompson argues that the widespread use of technology and social media does not make kids illiterate and unable to form coherent sentences, but instead, keeps them actively writing and learning. Thompson’s article is based off of a study done by Andrea Lunsford, a writing professor at Stanford University. Thompson agrees with Lunsford that the use of social media and the Internet allow students to be creative and get better at writing. In his article, Thompson quotes John Sutherland, an English professor at University College of London, to inform the audience of the opposite side of the argument. He states, “Facebook encourages narcissistic blabbering, video and PowerPoint have
In “The Closing of the American Book,” published in the New York Times Magazine, Andrew Solomon argues about how the decline of literary reading is a crisis in national health, politics, and education. Solomon relates the decline of reading with the rise of electronic media. He believes that watching television and sitting in front of a computer or a video screen instead of reading can cause the human brain to turn off, and lead to loneliness and depression. He also argues that with the decrease of reading rates, there will no longer be weapons against “absolutism” and “terrorism,” leading to the United States political failure in these battles. The last point Solomon makes is that there is no purpose behind America being one of the most literate societies in history if people eradicate this literacy, and so he encourages everyone to help the society by increasing reading rates and making it a “mainstay of community.” Solomon tries to show the importance of reading in brain development and he encourages people to read more by emphasizing the crisis and dangers behind the declination of reading.
In response to Mitoko Rich, “Literacy Debate – Online, R U Really Reading?” in the 21st century, children are learning via different sources, whether through textbooks, internet, blogs, etc. Therefore, it was not surprising to read what is mentioned in this article. Reading in the digital age is causing a debate, especially in regards to students. After reading the article, questions came to mind such as; is it possible that digital text can cause more harm than
In Kouider Mohktari’s “The Impact of Internet and Television Use on the Reading Habits and Practices of College Students”, he and two other authors (Carla A. Reichard and Anne Gardner) briefly argue and discuss how technology (like television and the internet) affects how the American adult reads. They went further into the subject and decided to study the reading habits of college students in the education system of today. There haven’t been many studies on the habits of college students, which is one reason why Mokhtari decided to study it. The reading skills of Americans are decreasing as each year passes. While I am a very avid user of the internet, and I do watch quite a bit of television, I also spend a fair amount of time reading.
Bauerlein says that the young American mind is being tarnished by technological advancements that draw children and teens away from books. He often states how he fears for the country’s future because of the intellect of the younger generation. The author provides several examples of how engrossed kids are in their devices. He gives a specific example that kids have a ridiculously large amount of screen time per day: around 295 minutes, which is almost five hours! Most children and teens responded by saying that the only reading they do is for school.
These theories, methods, assessments along with the evidence of success in reading at home make it clear that it is extremely important we try our hardest to support literacy in every child. All students can learn. It’s just a matter of making materials interesting and relevant to them, challenging them (but not to hard), and supporting them along the way.
Children today are growing up in a digital world where their surrounding environments are rich with popular culture, leading teachers to reconsider and respond to new pedagogies for teaching literacy in the classroom (Beavis, 2012; Hall, 2011; Petrone, 2013; Walsh, 2010).
Author Eliana Dockterman in her article, “The Digital Parent Trap,” exposes the potential benefits of technology use among young people. Dockterman’s purpose is to explain why she thinks that exposing kids to technology will enhance their learning skills because as she explains in her passage that kids memorize more when they use technology rather than when they read. She helps adopt a thoughtful feeling to help her audience have a second thought about early exposure of technology to kids. Dockterman believes that kids being exposed to technology at early ages are helpful as they pay more attention since they are the generation of technology, as Jim Taylor did a test for kids who played puzzle solving games and found that 12% did better on
Technology is suppressing the imagination of children. Jim Taylor, PhD, states “as the technology writer Nicholas Carr has observed, the emergence of reading encouraged our brains to be focused and im...
Some of our soceity has lost the ability to successfully read an article. For example, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print,”(Carr) Although, technology helps with keeping a close knit to our family and friends, education, entertainment, health and employment. Now, there is pros and cons with technology growing. “My mind isnt going- so far as i can tell- but its changing. Im not thinking the way I used to think.” (Carr) For example, the brain becomes a better learner when we learn new information, with new technology answers are just a click away. When the information is just a click away you aren’t actually learning it is placed in your short term memory.“Influencing Machines” by gladstone and neufeild they go into depth of how digital technologies can just wipe you away from whatever your doing and really catch your attention. For example, “Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy… now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages.”(Gladstone) Digital technologies have influenced me in many ways. If i didnt have my Iphone, Ipad, or Mac I think I would be lost. Without it I would actually have to carry a planner, contact book, and my
In today’s society we are overwhelmed with technology. Technology is changing everyday, and will forever be a staple in our lives. The effect that technology has on our children has brought on some concerns and some praises. Children these days have no choice but to some how be influenced by the ever growing technology in our societies. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted children’s talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2010). Many people have a wide range of opinions on if technology is having a positive influence on our children or a negative, there is a vast amount of evidence to support both of these arguments. Technology can refer to so many things, but there are three main parts of technology that are having the greatest effects on our children: video games, television/media, and computers. The modern technologies we have today are so powerful because they attract our genetic biases, that the human brain has a tremendous love for visually presented information. Video games, television, movies and computer programs are all very visually oriented and therefore they attract and keep the attention of children easily.
What will most people be reading in a generation? The distractions every day people face in today 's society are affecting current levels of literacy. The direction we need to be pushed towards will be the top priority of the 21st-century educators. In her essay "Read with Purpose" by Cheryl Barnett-Bey, she proposes that the enjoyment of reading has been replaced by the Internet and television. Just before my teenage years I was introduced to new technology and became less interested in reading books. Throughout my own literacy journey I 've noticed our fast-paced society is slowly turning more and more people into being interested in activities than reading.
Every new generation that is born in the United States always seems to read physical books less than the previous. For many students today, the only physical books that they will ever bother reading are those that they have been assigned to. However, that does not mean that they are reading less, as they spend most of their day reading text messages on their phone, or looking at status updates on social media websites. Even in the pursuit of knowledge, many would rather simply search for an article on the subject rather than read a lengthy book with more details. Such a reliance on the Internet to exchange information is bound to change some the ways that our society as a whole thinks. One work that dives deep into this issue would be The Shallows;
Rainie, L., Zickuhr, K., Purcell, K., Madden, M., & Brenner, J. (2012). The rise of e-reading. Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved April 11, 2013, http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/legacy-pdf/The%20rise%20of%20e-reading%204.5.12.pdf
Imagine someone born in the early 1900’s entering a modern-day classroom. They would likely be confused as to what televisions, computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices are. It is also likely that they would be overwhelmed by the instant access to information that the internet provides. Digital media has become a large part of people’s everyday lives especially with the rise of digital media in classrooms. Digital media is growing so rapidly that people who are not adapting to this shift in culture are falling behind and becoming victims of the “digital divide”, this is leaving people misinformed. Digital media has a large effect on the way that people communicate, this is especially evident in the way that students interact with