Ray Bradbury, in his 1953 novel “Fahrenheit 451”, depicts a world where the printed word has been outlawed by a government in fear of an increasingly free-thinking public. It is an oppressive society in which the story’s heroin exists, but one which couldn’t be too far from the truth when we think about our fast-approaching future. OK, so perhaps the idea of a government-orchestrated oppression isn’t such an accurate foresight, but the idea of a world in which the printed word is in mass-decline could soon become a reality.
In other words, what we could soon come to live in, in the Western World at least is a ‘Post-Literate’ society where reading and writing as our primary means of communicating ideas becomes almost obsolete, or just simply undesired.
The growth of multimedia, and new media outlets such as the Internet has allowed the public to experience information; educative or otherwise, in a variety of forms. Image and sound through film, television, and the web form much of today’s content, and the interaction between this content and users is becoming increasingly important. As an example, it can be seen that websites are gradually replacing newspapers and magazines as a more dynamic and efficient way in which to present world news and information.
Although this is true I cannot envisage, in our lifetime at least, our Western Civilization reaching a point where we completely disregard things such as books. If only simply because people like to have something they can hold, something with a more physical presence. (The same can be said of the Compact Disc). And with a book a person often seeks to sit and relax: terms I, and probably many others, don’t always associate with the use of a PC for example. Although, that’s not to completely ignore the possibility of the printed word in an educative and informative context being replaced.
On the other hand, should we come to live in a society where the majority of the population is technologically adept and acceptant: then can we expect to see multimedia replacing the printed word? It seems a more viable outcome in those circumstances.
In other words, what we could soon come to live in, in the Western World at least is a ‘Post-Literate’ society where reading and writing as our primary means of communicating ideas becomes almost obsolete, or just simply undesired.
The growth of multimedia, and new media outlets such as the Internet has allowed the public to experience information; educative or otherwise, in a variety of forms. Image and sound through film, television, and the web form much of today’s content, and the interaction between this content and users is becoming increasingly important. As an example, it can be seen that websites are gradually replacing newspapers and magazines as a more dynamic and efficient way in which to present world news and information.
Although this is true I cannot envisage, in our lifetime at least, our Western Civilization reaching a point where we completely disregard things such as books. If only simply because people like to have something they can hold, something with a more physical presence. (The same can be said of the Compact Disc). And with a book a person often seeks to sit and relax: terms I, and probably many others, don’t always associate with the use of a PC for example. Although, that’s not to completely ignore the possibility of the printed word in an educative and informative context being replaced.
On the other hand, should we come to live in a society where the majority of the population is technologically adept and acceptant: then can we expect to see multimedia replacing the printed word? It seems a more viable outcome in those circumstances.And finally, coming to issues arising, or perhaps being affected by this medial transition: wouldn’t the environment benefit somewhat from the possible redundancy of paper?
