Technology's Impact On Writing

The Impact of Technology on Writing As Stephen Hawking once said, “We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain”. The advancement in technology, and the Internet has completely blown everyone’s expectations and it has become the center of our civilization, changing lives everyday. In an chapter called “Public Thinking” from Clive Thompson’s book, Smarter Thank You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better, he claims that writing has increased an extensive amount because technology and the Internet has grown to be such vital roles in our society. He demonstrates rhetorical strategies that gains the reader’s attention and pulls them into his text. Thompson makes claims and persuades us to believe …show more content…
The action of writing helps the brain to clarify and formulate all thoughts into one. It opens up the mind to the various sides of the topic and it forces people to analyze their thinking. Thompson quotes poet Cecil Da-Lewis, “ ‘We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand’ “ (Thompson 51). A very short and simple yet powerful sentence because it is very true that putting thoughts down on paper helps clear the mind and focus on understanding exactly what is trying to be said. Another quote from an American literacy scholar, Deborah Brandt, “‘[Writing] crystallizes you, It crystallizes your thought’” (Thompson 52). This again demonstrates the importance and effect writing has on thinking and cognitive significance. By using authoritative figures, Thompson is trying to reach the readers’ logic and reasoning side by showing the sense of a rational response. Overall with these strategies, it is explained that writing guides and assists the path of thinking by clarifying the …show more content…
With the advancement of technology, more and more people are beginning to get used to the habit of being online whether it is for reading purposes or writing. Millions of information and new ideas are constantly flowing through the worldwide web and it is changing opinions and developing a whole new outlook on writing. Online writing has become prominent in our culture and with the advancement of technology, process of bringing ideas from thoughts to paper, and an audience that reads and comments, it has changed our cognitive mind significantly. When someone writes online whether it is a blog, commentary, review, or idea, they have to be in full awareness that they are making it public for anyone anywhere to see. That is why Thompson calls it “Public Thinking”, there is no such thing as privacy. He claims that with multiple reasons, “Public Thinking”, or online writing has made beneficial changes to society by clarifying minds. Thompson uses various strategies such as personal anecdotes, authority figures, and statistics to make his claims stronger and more effective towards the reader. Using these strategies, each take different directions of effect on the reader’s mind, influencing them to put everything together and look at the big picture. The big picture meaning writing, and especially online writing has grown to play a crucial role in today’s society, changing the