e-text! or "your an idiot"

I'm going to be obnoxious and write in purple.

I think the fears regarding electronic media and computer are interesting and still very alive today. I think the book as a physical object has more staying power than alarmists realize. On the internet, I can read small articles and conversations but using it as a primary source for written text is very difficult. I'm a cheapskate so occasionally I attempt to read a book for class on the internet instead of buying it, and it's never a good idea. Somehow it's just hard to read...and less portable (I'm not whipping out my laptop on the bus). When electronic text becomes easier to read and more portable/affordable, perhaps then traditionalists can worry. But even then, I can only imagine electronic text as imitating traditional media ("electronic paper"). And there's the idea of permanence; physical books/writing has to be destroyed. Data can be erased.

They may have a point with this "erosion of language"...it's a popular complaint among teachers that students use text-speak or whatever. But is this due to the internet/computers or is it just a generation of kids ignorant about grammar who are more likely to use the internet? I'm betting the latter. I see "your/you're" and "they're/there/their" all over the internet (along with its/it's confusion and a host of other terrible things) but I think it's a result of the internet's demographic. People have probably always been this bad - we just notice now because we're using text to communicate much more frequently. Furthermore, does language "erode"? Or does it simply change? Today's common usage is yesterday's abuse of the English language.

It is interesting to know that language and form do influence content, meaning and the way things are percieved. I know the reading focused more on e-text in terms of e-books but I think other forms of electronic text are more influential. For example, more and more on a daily basis we express ourselves only through text...in text messages, e-mails, blog posts, instant messages and more. Therefore, more and more, we are represented solely by our text. The way in which we present our text, the specific language we use becomes a representation of ourselves. This blog is a prime example of this.