4 ms·

* 13 year olds today almost exclusively communicate through text, whereas in the 70s it was quite plausible for a 13 year old to simply not spend time reading.*

by bmj 5y ago

* 13 year olds today almost exclusively communicate through text, whereas in the 70s it was quite plausible for a 13 year old to simply not spend time reading.* Comparing the way teenagers text to reading an actual book seems a bit ridiculous to me. Have you read a 13 year old's text thread? The standardized ways of measuring reading performance have much to with vocabulary and comprehension skills. Are you suggesting that if kids can read each other's texts, and maybe Instagram comments, they are in good shape?

lumost 5y ago
No I am not, however I'm old enough to briefly recall childhood life before computers were commonplace. There was a time when I was in elementary school where getting children to read at all was an activity.
plopz 5y ago
They might be in fine shape, I remember back when we had to learn cursive in school because if you couldn't read or write cursive then you might as well have been illiterate. Does cursive have any relation to literacy now-a-days? Absolutely not. Whats to say that being able to read or write instagram comments doesn't fully encapsulate what literacy entails in the 21st century? I love to read fiction, but for me its just a hobby. Is the ability to read an old book actually all that important? I never actually read any of my textbooks in high school or college and I even stopped buying them because I realized how pointless and expensive they were. I'm well into my career and haven't ever touched a book related to my field. Communicating with my boss through email or chat is far more important than any formal reading comprehension. I'd say if anything, modern day literacy is more about understanding fragmented conversations, reading between the lines and conceptualizing meaning, understanding context and being able to converse with colleagues including familiarity with memes, recognizing clickbait and being able to sort through misinformation. All of which is are skills the older generations exceptionally lack. Perhaps they are the ones who are actually currently illiterate.

by bmj 5y ago

lumost 5y ago

No I am not, however I'm old enough to briefly recall childhood life before computers were commonplace. There was a time when I was in elementary school where getting children to read at all was an activity.

plopz 5y ago

They might be in fine shape, I remember back when we had to learn cursive in school because if you couldn't read or write cursive then you might as well have been illiterate. Does cursive have any relation to literacy now-a-days? Absolutely not. Whats to say that being able to read or write instagram comments doesn't fully encapsulate what literacy entails in the 21st century? I love to read fiction, but for me its just a hobby. Is the ability to read an old book actually all that important? I never actually read any of my textbooks in high school or college and I even stopped buying them because I realized how pointless and expensive they were. I'm well into my career and haven't ever touched a book related to my field. Communicating with my boss through email or chat is far more important than any formal reading comprehension. I'd say if anything, modern day literacy is more about understanding fragmented conversations, reading between the lines and conceptualizing meaning, understanding context and being able to converse with colleagues including familiarity with memes, recognizing clickbait and being able to sort through misinformation. All of which is are skills the older generations exceptionally lack. Perhaps they are the ones who are actually currently illiterate.