Just had to admit I learned something this week. Once I downloaded TweetDeck and could sort out the twits by hashtag or person, I actually got seriously hooked for all of one evening. At least I could see how someone could get seriously drawn into reading it constantly, both for feedback and opportunities to say something clever to their growing fanbase. (Kristin's slide on that was spot on.) So yes, I do sorta get it, but do I want it? Maybe someday. Back when I was a stay at home Mom I spent quite a bit of time chatting with other mothers, either on the phone or while our kids played. I don't do that anymore, but it would be nice to fit that kind of connectivity back into my daily routine. It makes sense for working adults to chat online if they can't hang around playgrounds anymore.
Connectivity is a great way to pass the time, no doubt. Until recently the primary computer activity at my house was centered around gaming, but not so much these days. My teenage son checks 12 websites (we counted) every evening before he goes to bed, trolling for new material on sites like Failblog and Graphjam, as well as the usual messages on Facebook and iGoogle email. I recently pointed out he doesn't read anymore, meaning he isn't picking up those paper and print books I love to see kids reading. He just looked at me and laughed while his older brother patiently reminded me that they read all the time, just online. Is the quality better in print? Probably only in my rose coloured imagination. Are Calvin & Hobbes and Conan the Barbarian graphic novels the stuff of intellectual growth (well, C & H is, but definitely not C the B). The point is, I need to recognize online reading is still reading. And tweeting is still old fashioned chatting.
I agree, it's hard to remember that being online really is reading, even if it's not the traditional kind of reading. There's something to be said for the experience of a physical book; I can't imagine reading Jane Austen for the first time on a screen.
ReplyDeleteI want that physical book in my hands as well. But then again we are in "library school" lol. Yeah I troll sites before going to bed too, it's a bad habit that sometimes keeps me up WAY longer than it should. Gotta cut down on that.
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