What the Future of Electronic Writing May Bring

The path of electronic writing more than ever has been a growing question; what will the future of electronic writing hold? Enough advancements and achievements have occurred since the introduction of technology which can serve as a guide to what the future of electronic writing has in store. There is no doubt, due to the current conveniences of electronic writing and communication that it will evolve. Electronic writing will have an impact on all aspects of life ranging anywhere from education to trade. The trends in the realm of electronic writing and internet use will act as an addition, not alternative to education, and will influence the increase in age range of world wide communication, while continuing the globalization of trade, and also contributing to the economic disparities between the north and south regions of our globe.

The trends in electronic writing have had a significant impact on the youth culture of not only America, but the world. Due to advancements in technology, internet and cell phones have become the link of social communication among teenagers and young adults. According to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, about 79% (17 million) of teenagers own a cell phone and of those teen owners, 15% own a smart phone. (ie. Iphone, Blackberry) The main age group that these cell phone companies are targeting are the youth. Teens are where the cell phone companies get their profits. These companies are contributing to the electronic writing environment simply by targeting these age groups. Cell phone companies generate billions of dollars in revenue, in June of 2008, it was calculated that $143.7 billion were made in cell phone revenue. Due to the massive amounts of attention and constant use of cell phone and the internet for communication, our teens are becoming better adapted to new technology. Based on how far the first computer has come from back in the 1940’s up until now, there is only one thing that is guaranteed with technology, it will constantly be improved which is beneficial for the youth today who are being brought up into a society that is always changing. Today’s teens will be able to adapt to the changing electronic environment around them and will not be left behind due to the every changing aspects of technology. Unfortunately, since the invention of the internet, electronic writing has been nearly absent in our educational systems.

It would seem in a world that is constantly evolving and heavily reliant on technology for personal communication, transportation, security and everyday info, that use of this technology would be absolutely essential for the success of our youth. Nevertheless, the idea of electronic writing acting as a substitute for print writing may not in the near future for electronic writing. Currently, when it comes down to the basics, they are best taught the old fashioned way. The opinions of print writing opposed to electronic writing show a hierarchy that may even out but currently, electronic writing has made little progress in gaining precedent over print writing. Although technology has influenced such a large part of our youth, it is clear from teenage as well as parent reactions, that print writing holds a higher value than electronic writing. Of the 85% of youths between the age of 12-19 who use electronic communication- texting, email instant messaging, and social networks only 60% of them do not consider it writing. Of these students, about 86 % of them, do believe that knowing how to right well is absolutely essential to being successful. Student reactions to electronic writing and print highlight the difference between the two, placing more importance on print. Now whether it is the students actually having proof to form these connections or if it is because of institutions unwilling to fully integrate electronic writing into the curriculum is a matter of discussion. Unfortunately, unless either of these opinion changes, the educational system will do little to change as well. Up until now, the use of electronic writing has played a relatively small role in the educational system. The main use of electronic writing would really haven nothing to do with the web. The only real type of electronic writing being experienced in our schools right now is typing and creating power points.

Presently, print writing tends to be more formal so many teens believe that print writing will take them farther than electronic writing. After all, how can one write electronically when one has not even learned correct grammar and forming of sentences? The idea that print writing being completely absolete and replaced by electronic writing is something that I find would be very hard to accomplish in the future. While would be totally feasible for these things to be learned online, up until now no actual nationally accredited teaching plan has been established so print is the best way to do it. It is interesting to know that although the internet has been around for 10 years; academic institutions have done little to really integrate electronic writing as an addition to education.

These uses of technology (or lack there of) in the world of academia then bring up the question of whether or not electronic writing will even be taught in addition to ‘old fashioned’ or print writing. With electronic writing and technology constantly evolving, the idea of it must at some point be brought up for discussion. In fact, at some universities, Chapman University in particular, electronic writing is already being acknowledged and taught. While the fundamental English skills are necessary prior to enrollment, it covers some of the same grammar and structural writing that other English classes would regularly teach. Integrating electronic writing into regular curriculum would be a few easy thing to achieve because the internet is everywhere and most schools already have computers for learning purposes (i.e. typing and power point). If this type of teaching is being taught in college classes, some head figure finds this form of education important, so it could potentially work its way down the educational system. The fact that electronic writing has only now slowly started to be integrated into teaching is surprising because it is such a widely used tool that is going to be essential in our future. Without education to keep the youth updated and train them in how to communicate in a virtual world, it would be up to each new generation to contribute somehow and personally maintain their own knowledge of electronic writing, which would be much easier accomplished through means of education. After all, if teens are able to keep up with the newest hippest cellphones there should be no problem for them to keep up with new mediums of the internet and to become comfortable with wikis, blogs and other internet tools.

Because teens are constantly involved with at least the cellphone industry, they have created their own language. Due to instant messaging and texting phrases such as ‘TTYL’ and ‘LOL’, these teenage texters are creating a language that is practically jibberish to adults and parents of teens. These abbreviations have become fully integrated in texting and internet messaging, which happens to be some of the most common forms of communication among young people. 39% (pdf)of teen cell phone users send and/or receive text messages. Whether teens are going to be able to continually be able to adapt and maintain that line of separation between print writing and electronic writing may be a concern. While electronic writing would not mean that all previous formal writing would completely go out the window, if the teaching of electronic writing were to be integrated into the educational system, that line between print and electronic writing would have to be made very clear. In spite of even knowing the difference between print and electronic writing, the abbreviations that are mainly associated with electronic writing are 64% of the time, often accidently, being integrated in the more formal writing for schooling. I even have to admit that I am guilty of mixing these things up too. I will write and not realize that I am abbreviating words as I go. It is quicker and second nature due to how often I am active on the web and texting. In order to keep these ‘accidents’ from happening, teens should be taught the differences and be trained in order to comprehend the differences and have an awareness of the differences between the two.

However, there are cons to educational information being strictly accessible to the web. Not every person has a computer and that sets up an obvious disadvantage. Also, second and third world countries would not have as much access as other wealthier nations or the “global north” nations which include a lot of the great powers and more successful countries. With the inequalities already being a widely debated issue between the global north and global south, massive internet use, especially as a form of communication, would put the global south at a great disadvantage. They would have to try harder than they already do now to compete with the global north. The idea of a small business having the advantage to look online for ideas of decorating or ordering and comparing goods is a great idea, but there is a disadvantage for those who do not have the means to access this information. Until the world is able to create a place where the internet can be affordable and accessible to everyone, there is going to be a disparity and a sense of inequality with those who have the means and those that do not.

Also, as the prospect of electronic writing holding a role in the global economy, that may also put the poorer countries at a disadvantage. Now there are really only little things that technology has be able to contribute to the economy, but it is only the beginning and being and a path for future progress is being carved. Setting up online bank statements, bill paying, shopping and even buying stocks have already been integrated as mediums accessible via the web and why should it stop there. Computer, broadband, and even private companies are constantly trying to improve their services and create easier ways for things to be run, so the idea of electronic use being integrated into everyday life is not a thing of the future. It is a current phenomena that has already been established and will serve to grow based on its use.

The main example of the global economy is through electronic trading which has had the greatest impact on the stock markets. Historically, stock markets were places where people went to go trade but ever since 1971 with NASDAQ, stock markets have never been the same. Granted, all the new advancements of these technologies were extremely helpful. They made stocks easier to complete and monitor. Since NASDAQ, many people have made their companies and stocks electronic because it is easier to compete in the foreign market. There have been so many perks to electronic trading, such as transparency, greater competition and greater amounts of buyers and sellers, those who can trade electronically do, and those who cannot trade electronically want to. However, money is needed in order to be able to trade electronically and those who have little money are unable to compete which again brings up the disparity between the richer and poorer countries.

Despite the fact that poorer countries could be affected negatively, another issue with electronic writing evolving and holder a bigger role in the future is privacy. While the use of the web and electronic forms of information may be appealing and highly convenient, the issue of privacy and security also must be brought up. When it comes to the internet, information is thrown around like it is nothing. In the future, people are going to need to monitor their digital footprint in order to maintain the privacy of their personal information. 43% (pdf) of adults do not do not monitor their information nor do they actively do anything to prevent their information from being shared online. These people are going to be at risk of more fraud and identity theft which are becoming much more common due to the internet. Since the 10 million cases reported in 2000, the annual rate of increase for identity theft is 80% creating an overwhelming amount of victims. Also, because the internet is expanding at such an alarming rate and people are not always smart about what information they put online, the government is going to have to be involved in order to maintain a fair and stable working internet for the public to access. Currently, identity theft is not noticed until significant damage has been done, and in order to decrease these numbers, the government needs to get smart and actually start to contribute to decrease these numbers.

Based on these findings and the future progression of the internet, there are going to be many changes which are not only limited to the topics discussed about above. Other changes that may not be as obvious but relevant are changes in family dynamics due to the use of the world wide web, the idea of online voting, virtual medical records, and the even the possibility of books becoming obsolete. With electronic writing creating such convenient and beneficial results over the past years, there is no doubt that this trend will evolve to become a huge part of lives world wide.