¶ … Computers on Traditional Writing," by Sharmila Pixy Ferris. Specifically, it will summarize the article, and comment on how it pertains to the overall topic of computers and culture.
Computers and Writing
This article suggests that the ability to write "distinguishes the human race," (Ferris), and that computers have changed how we record and remember our writing. The article first gives a short history of some of the most important innovations in writing and cognitive thought, and then goes on to specifically study writing on the World Wide Web, and how computers have changed the way we write for online needs.
Computers and technology have altered the way we live our modern lives, and the use of online communication is one area that has developed and changed rapidly. This ability to communicate online through email, instant messaging, and web pages brings a sense of immediacy to our lives. We expect instant gratification, instant communication, and instant fixes to our problems, and the Internet has only added to this need for instantaneous communication. As we constantly search for faster and better ways to complete projects and add to our lives, the writing on the Internet, from email to hypertext, all adds fodder to our hurried and complicated lives.
Literacy is also affected, because grammar and literary "rules" are often ignored in the rush to communicate, and so, the printed word online often results in incoherent gibberish that is accepted as the norm. As the author notes, "The experience becomes fragmentary and malleable, or oral, rather than unified and stable, or literate, and information retains a fluidity in computer-mediated communication that it lacks in traditional literacy" (Ferris). Therefore, communication on the computer becomes more "oral" rather than written, and this has changed the way we communicate all through our culture. Ideas flow more fluidly and quickly, and brainstorming is easier to do with partners throughout the world.
Clearly, the written word online has altered our culture in many ways, some not always for the better. However, online communication is here to stay, and the full effects on our culture are yet to be seen.
Bibliography
Ferris, Sharmila Pixy. "The Effects of Computers on Traditional Writing." University of Michigan Press. August 2002. 29 Oct. 2003. www.press.umich.edu/jep/08-01/ferris.html
