Am I literate?

One of the opportunities I have had in my Media and Society class was to attend an open forum at LBCC. Please read Jay’s blog to get a complete list of panel participants along with a great overview of the discussion. I would like to draw your attention to the last paragraph of his blog entry for “What Does it Mean to be literate?”

It reads, “When it comes down to it, what people should take away from these informative discussions is that no longer is literacy only being able to read and write. Our world has evolved into one dominated by technology, and those unable to use this technology are quickly falling behind those fortunate enough to have access to today's advances. We must promote self-awareness, and search for what we don't already know.”

Jay’s summary was dead on. I left this discussion realizing just because I could read, write, and generally understand what I read and what was wrote, I am not only Internet challenge, but I may also be illiterate in this context. One of the speakers point out that today’s research doesn’t typically start with cracking open a book. Instead you open the internet go straight to Google and begin fact finding. They mentioned they were worried that a society that simply “fact finds,” may miss out on the cultural and moral aspects of the facts. This comment really hit home with me. I must confess, I am a “fact finder.” I rarely read for pleasure anymore, and now with social niches (These days you never have to leave your computer to have an entire community of friends and family agreeing with your opinion and thinking just like you. After all, they probably made it on your friends list because you had something in common.) defining who we are, I too am worried about our cultural and moral future.