By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:22:29 +0000

I do feel like that’s variable, because as someone who reads a lot for class and who writes a lot outside of class, most of my reading (whether books or blogs) translates directly into writing. But yes, I think your point still holds, and is a very good one.

By: demosthenes310

demosthenes310 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:54:16 +0000

Frankly I think that the whole old media vs new media debate misses the point entirely. The new media (twitter &c) are not excuses to read; they are excuses to write. Even when we are reading things online we are only doing it (almost as a rule) so that we can write a response. Reading new media is a form of writing. You say this yourself in your description of your Twitterfeed addiction. I am verifying it by commenting on your blog. When we read a novel, we are very rarely using the text as a writing tool. So to say that new media distract from old media is like a more historical (but equally dysfunctional) version of saying that writing in your journal distracts from reading a book.

Comments on: On Reading Habits and the Information Superhighway

By: Emily

By: demosthenes310