clive thompson on the new literacy

Clive Thompson in “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy” argues with those who blame the advances in technology causing the decrease in literacy in generations. Thompson claims that thanks to technology people are now writing more than ever such as in websites. He puts in Andrea Lunsford’s statement that technology rather than killing the ability to write it is helping revive it, and calls it a literacy revolution. He states that before the internet people out of school only made writings for work such as work in law, advertising or media. Thompson also acknowledges Lunsford’s idea of Kairos, where people know how to assess the audience adapting their techniques and tones to be able to get the point to the point to the audience in the best way. He states people now always write for an audience making them think of different ways that make good writing which Thompson claims no one did in his generation. This people’s writing is about persuading others about their views in movies, organizing, giving 15,000-word walkthroughs of videogames, and debating about what movies to go see. Writing such as texting “teaches young people to deploy haiku-like concision” according to Thompson, as in it makes people write short messages but has precise information, gets it right to the point. But that this type of writing didn’t show up in student’s academic writings for the classroom, Thompson believes that is because students are not passionate with classroom work because the audience is only the teacher, all the writing was just for a grade. Thompson also believes that knowing who you are writing to and why you are writing are the most factors.
Our generation indeed has more opportunities and choices than any other because our advances which probably might be why the people of today are writing more and more. It is true how Lunsford’s and Thompson’s idea that people’s performance and enthusiasm on showed on writings outside the classroom. I say it might be because inside the classroom students feel somewhat limited to what they can say or how they can say it. For example, I am really not sure but you can’t say words like f*&^ or s*&% in classroom assignments that are going to be read and graded which can put emphasis on what their stating. Outside people can feel more comfortable because they know that they are writing to people that share the same interest on what they are writing about, but this could be true with all types of writing because the people who read the any other persons work is obviously interested. I think of it the same as some one who is reading about how much easier one gamer got through a game and a scientist who wants to know the results of the same experiment of some other scientist. To me it is just a different feeling writing assignments for the classroom than writing to friends or people of our age with the same thoughts and necessity for some writings to be written.