Text is not Dead

Should we be nervous? That is one of my questions as I consider the significant power of the internet in our lives. In thinking about the notion that artists are more sensitive to shifts in culture, especially when it comes to media, I can’t help but ponder Terminator, I Robot, Minority Report, and even that flop of a film with poor Sandra Bullock, The Net. All of the stories behind these films show a world taken over by the machines, and that world is scary and out of control. I think humans have always been at least a bit dubious of machines, computers, and the internet. I remember when people were reluctant to begin using debit cards. In response to the internet’s growing power, people have decided to make it friendly, by making it fun. Fun things are innocuous. When Google has a picture on its homepage or even just it’s colorful letters, how can one be doubtful about using it? The biggest shift in making it fun has been social media, which at first started out as a form of entertainment and now acts as a necessary tool for connections. Whether we should be watchful of the growing internet, no one is willing to disconnect from it. We have acquiesced. It might be taking over the world, but we’re fairly convinced that the world is a better place for it.