Readings:
Pop Culture is Killing Writing – Bronwyn T. Williams
Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills – Scott Warnock
I chose these readings because I was interested in the explanation of how technology/texting does or does not impact our grammar. While I have heard a lot of opinions about the topic, I have not read about studies and more scientifically based opinions, so it seemed to be the most interesting.
Summaries
“Pop Culture is Killing Writing” by Bronwyn T. Williams discusses the view that things such as the internet/social media, video games, and comic books are causing younger generations to become less proficient in writing. Williams challenges this, however, by stating that “when young people engage with popular culture they are learning valuable rhetorical concepts and skills” (194). Williams argues that pop culture and technology is in fact not killing writing, but actually making it better. In “Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills”, Scott Warnock describes that texting and other digital forms of writing are not the same as other kinds of writing. Something interesting that Warnock states is, “human beings have always used language to judge and control one another” (304), implying that those who hold the view that texting is ruining grammar skills are just trying to take control back. He finally emphasizes that there are no scientifically proven studies that show a connection to lower grammar skills and technology use.
Prompt 2
“People who think all computer games are mindless and don’t require thought haven’t played the range of games I see students playing, which require diligence, creativity, and learning to complete.” - Bronwyn T. Williams
This sentence stood out to me so much because I relate to it completely. Most of my childhood I did not have video games because my parents saw them as a waste of money. Since I have started making my own money, I have gotten more into video games and finally understand the hype. The first game I purchased was The Sims 4, a life simulation game where you can create a custom world, from the people all the way to the houses, libraries, gyms, and restaurants. The game has a selection of expansion packs that can be purchased to add even more realistic elements to the game. I play in my pastime, and the most enjoyable thing I do is creating storylines. I make a family, build them a house, give them jobs that fit their personalities, raise kids, grow old, and eventually die. Sometimes, I plan out the stories in advance and have a list waiting for the next time I can play. When I read this sentence out of “Pop Culture is Killing Writing”, I realized that, while sometimes I am just mindlessly playing, I create stories in the game. While I haven’t sat down and written a story that I planned to specifically turn into a Sims rendition, I believe that since I have started playing these kinds of games, it is easier for me to be more creative with my writing. Also, there is a vast amount of players who record themselves playing the game or completing tasks and post the videos to YouTube. This is another way that video games encourage creativity; the ability to share ideas and knowledge with others in a community makes it easier for people to continue to learn and develop their ideas and skills.
Prompt 6
“As readers, we tend to see errors where we want to, and we ignore errors where we do not expect to find them (such as a published article about writing!)… Williams ultimately asks this: If an error is on the page but no one sees it, is it really an error? Does it matter?… and, again, finding error in such contexts is a function of a reader’s judgment of a text, not of the writer’s abilities, talents, or knowledge” (302-304). - Scott Warnock
Question: Do errors really only stick out when we are looking for them?
I pose this question because the quoted part above was interesting to me. I tend to be very critical of my own work, and recently have become somewhat critical to others’ as I compare it to my own. Sometimes this can be good, making me feel better about myself knowing that other writers also make mistakes. However, I tend to enjoy the piece better if I am not criticizing it. When I am not looking to find mistakes or imperfections within the writing, I am more focused on the words on the page, not what it is saying. I don’t have time to read for fun much anymore, but when I do find time I am never specifically looking for errors, and thus I typically find less. If the people who believe that technology is ruining writing took time to see what writers are saying and not explicitly how they are saying it, would they still feel so strongly about the “issue”?
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