Today's Students Hooked on Sonics

http://www.gateway.ualberta.ca/view.php?aid=6540

This article is about how because technology has advanced, simple skills such as reading are declining. More tools are available for students that instead of buying and reading print publications, they can now download podcasts or buy audio books to listen as they go about their busy lives. Sales are down for newspapers and books because hardly anyone has time to sit down and read anymore. It's so much easier to listen To a book or article as you drive to work. We're now living in a digital era, whether we like it or not.

Because print media is a dying breed, this is a very exciting time for digital designers because the call for digital media is more in demand. Which means not only are jobs in high demand, but digital designers themselves are called to action. Why? Pretty animation for the web isn't the only thing being created. Now there are tons of new applications popping up everywhere that consist of digital media. As technology advances, more traditional tools will be digitalized.

This article is very exciting to me, but at the same time it also scares me. It's awesome how technology has grown and more options are available to use, like audio books. However, they shouldn't always take the place of more traditional methods. Audio books are great when traveling, but as it takes the place of a paperback book, children and adults alike are becoming much more lazy. So what does that say for our future? If we continue to read less, will we become a more dumb species? In ways, our knowledge will increase due to more available resources and the drive for technological advancement. In others, it will decrease, such as basic reading and writing skills. I'm not saying all this digital media is unbeneficial. For example, take the electronic voting machines which provide better accessibility for the handicapped. What I do believe is that we need to keep the balance between digital and traditional sources balanced. Then our options are truly unlimited.