Web log 6

Web Log 6

As time progresses, new ways to socially interact and obtain information are formed, people begin to develop new literary skills, however as of recently, digital media has become a huge factor in today’s society creating many new ways to obtain information and socially interact as many organizations and businesses utilize the internet for many informal purposes and even hiring. Despite being used for so many things, the internet is not accessible to everyone, causing people to be excluded from certain events and job opportunities in their communities. Regardless, digital media is altering the way people interact and learn. Digital media, or more specifically the internet has helped promote a participatory culture; a culture with low artistic barriers that supports civic engagements and allows people to share their creations in various online communities. An example of this is twitter, a website that allows one to post updates that may be used to inform others of upcoming events, give links to educational sources, or just to keep in contact with your friends and, while I don’t not have a twitter account personally, I can see how useful it can be. Websites like this shown a progression that has greatly affected the skills required to be literate in the 21^st century, now it requires not only physical social experience but it also requires one to understand the workings of the internet. Despite this, the internet is still relatively new compared to the normal literary mediums such as books and newspapers, and because of this, it hasn’t been adopted as a normal literary source and the skills required to use the internet are not regularly taught in schools; it is up to the individual themselves to learn how to use the internet.  Participatory communities are a welcome addition to modern society and it’s a shame that many if not most people are excluded from them, these communities allow for freedom of the imagination while also being able to provoke truly intellectual pieces of art. The medium that these communities reside is on the internet, which can be access from ones desktop computer, laptop, smart phone and even various electronic gaming consoles. It’s because of this that many people do not have access to participatory communities. Many people cannot afford to buy a type of computer and continually pay a bill for internet access, and so, a limited amount of people have limited access to the internet, despite the internet’s extensive use. 21^st century literary skills requires, to some extent, some experience with the internet and because of this many people are illiterate in the 21^st century as they miss out on many of the benefits provided by the internet. Hopefully, as time progresses, the internet will continue to grow and the more and more people will have the ability to access it.