Print Vs Technology Essay, Research Paper

Print VS Technology

It is in my own belief that higher forms of technology will end up being the sole distributor of information and that linear typographical information exchange will slowly dwindle down as time edges onward. In comparison, the amount of information exchanged through today?s textual media and the amount that people take in through some higher form of technology is mind boggling. People today can sit effortlessly on a couch with the television on channel nine and absorb all of the day’s news in a short amount of time. In modern day society, ‘time is money’ and the TV is the alternative that most people chose. The question in focus is what will this change do to the people in our society?

In looking at this from Postman?s view the print based culture was one consisting of people who were very intelligent, mainly the literate ones. He shows this claim through the description of lawyers in print a based culture. “In a print-based culture, lawyers tented to be well educated, devoted to reason, and capable of impressive expositional argument”(Postman 56). Here I will concur that people in print cultures, whether lawyers or not, might have come across as being more intelligent because then

the ratio of literate to illiterates was significantly different. This has no effect on the fact that people in a multimedia culture are less intelligent because of the fact that reading is less of a predominant way of taking in information. It is true that we are influenced every day with loads of useless information broadcasted from higher forms of technology. “We need not worry about people?s being swamped by useless information. They will pick out what is germane to their needs.”(Lauhan 242). People of high intellect will and should be able to decipher the useful information from the useless garbage brought by technology. It would be futile to say that someone living in a print culture could, by that sole reason, be more intelligent than one from a multimedia culture. Living in a multimedia culture allows for the absorption of larger amounts of information at any given time frame. Referring to the example given above by Postman a lawyer in modern time should be capable of researching a case through many different sources of information provided through higher forms of technology. This shows that people in a multimedia culture have the ability to use technology to gain a higher intellect than those of the former print culture.

While higher forms of technology make for easier access to information it also leads to the American slang word, ?couch potato?. As information becomes easier to access I believe that it will open a door to a higher level of reasoning and understanding of information. This I believe will lead us to the ability to reason on much higher levels.

It is my soul belief that technology is bringing us up and beyond the realms of print.

The ability to view immediately one’s own self speaking on videotape assists individuals to see themselves as others see them. This self-image conveys the impression immediately that one’s own knowledge is important and

that it can be effectively communicated. These video techniques create a new way of learning, which not only build confidence, but show people that they can say and do things that they thought were not possible before. For

those who cannot read or write, these video techniques make available information that people can understand. They also create new communication links. People can talk with other people in different villages, with other people in different social or economic classes, with other kinds of experts, or with bosses. Video in the hands of a

skilled community worker can assist people to talk to other people with whom they may have never before had any communication or access. It can remove the inherent threat in communicating with persons of authority. It

can assist in the planning of action and in the resolution of conflict, potential or actual.

The very presence of a community worker with this technology

shows or provides a sense of caring and involvement which

enhances the willingness of village people to become involved in

new ways of learning and doing. The community worker and the

video process bring people together for common cause, create

new information channels and inspire a belief and confidence in

self-help.

Video production and utilization equipment that is most

appropriate for development workers and educators is not the

same as that used for broadcast purposes. It is less expensive

and the technical quality of the image produced may not be as

high as broadcast equipment; however, community use of video

does not require as high technical standards. It is the message,

more than its packaging, that is important in community work.

It is important to recognize that there is a wide range of

non-broadcast video equipment on the market. This is a highly

competitive field, with the technology changing very rapidly and

manufacturers constantly developing new models, so great care

must be taken to select the most suitable equipment for the

purposes for which it is to be used.