While I'm not sure where I stand on the overall discussion of post-literacy brought about by Michael Ridley, the creator and editor of Beyond Literacy: Exploring a Post-Literacy Future, I certainly agree with chapt. 6 of his book (http://www.beyondliteracy.com/information-overload/).
Ridley wrote of how overwhelmed we are with all the information coming at us through the internet. From the beginning, he wrote, at the inception of the internet's use to the general public, some experts were worried about all the information. This is similar to how Socrates warns Phraedus in Plato's Phaedrus that writing will be the downfall of civilization, that it "will only make human memory weaker" (3), according to Dennis Baron, author of A Better Pencil. While Socrates' worry was not the same format as expressed in Ridley's chapter, they both express concern of how a new technology will affect society. The concern in both cases seems to be how this new technology may give too much information to the general populace, which society is not prepared for.
Since most Americans know how to read and write fairly well, Ridley's concern is that we have too much information going into our brains to the point our brains can no longer process the information. Our minds become rusty old cars that can get you from A to B, but can't go above sixty on the interstate or brake quickly.
Unlike even a hundred years ago, we are constantly on the internet or with our faces in front of a screen. My niece is not even two years old, and she knows that there are cool things on her dad's phone and grandma's iPad. Her level of interconnectedness is nothing compared to mine--for now. There is little doubt that the next couple of generations will be the most technology literate the world has ever seen. My generation has taken the award for effective multitasking (though there is debate over this, too), but the high school students and grade schoolers and those even younger will have even more to look at and process than I ever did as a kid. I have a phone, laptop, and iPod. And even though I am one of the few millenials who still lacks a smartphone, I spend at least seven hours on my computer a day--and I never have only one tab open. I have several tabs on Internet Explorer, one of which is playing music, along with a Word document or two. In addition, I may have social media open, too. Then I have my phone on and iPod next to me, in case I want to upload a new song while I'm tweeting and writing a paper.
Sounds fun, right? Wrong. Well, it is fun, but it takes me forever to get one thing done. Even if I just have music on, I have to pick a special playlist for this assignment. All is well until a song comes on a don't fell like listening to at that moment. Instead of merely muting it for a couple of minutes, I have to change it. If I don't, I sit there and brood on how much I do not like this song and why on earth did I ever save it on Spotify?
I used to have a decent amount of discipline on getting one assignment finished before I posted something on Facebook , but I've lost it since entering college. I'm sure I could regain control, but it's so hard. It's difficult enough to the point that I'm willing to ignore it and only write a couple of paragraphs an hour in between surfing Pinterest.
But Ridley's article had forced me to face the overwhelming (and irritating) truth: my memory is shot. I can't remember anything. I cannot tell you exactly what I read last week, much less during the summer, even though I know I enjoyed the book. There is no way I could ever recall all the websites I had been on in the past week. Oh, give me a couple of minutes and I may be able to, but ask me to describe what I read? My response is going to be red cheeks and a lot of head scratching.
In reality, though, do I truly care? Despite knowing I can get more accomplished by closing social media and turning on quiet instrumental music, I will still have Pinterest or Facebook open while reading. If I don't discipline myself, I'll end up spending two or three hours longer finishing homework because I can't remember what I just read or thought. I'll continue to be frustrated and anxious.
I cannot do anything about how much information is already on the internet, but I can control what I encounter. This does not mean I will delete any of my social media accounts, quite the contrary, but I can turn my laptop off when I read, or disconnect the internet while I'm writing. It will be difficult, no doubt, but maybe that important article I have to read for class will actually make sense in the classroom the next day. Maybe I'll remember what I wrote on my blog the other day that got people to read it.
Bibliography: Baron, Dennis E. "Writing It Down." A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. N. pag. Print.
Michael Ridley, http://www.beyondliteracy.com/information-overload/
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