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The Evolving Act of Physically Reading In a Digitial World
I cannot help but think about the difference in how I read in digital vs physical mediums, and how others might read differently also.
I have joked with folks that my age cohort is the last of the analogs; the last generation that grew up without ubiquitous internet. My high school years “going online” started as something you had to do in the newfangled computer lab at school. By the time I graduated the townie kids were starting to get dialup at home and AOL was filling up mailboxes with starter discs. No such luck Up Yonder, outside of town, which finally got full blown modern internet that was usable for more than just slowly scrolling Mom’s Facebook on December 29th, 2023.
While the internet, and the then-force multiplier of the internet that was smart phones, have changed much in the last thirty odd years since folks first started really using the internet, one thing I have really noticed is how digital words have changed how folks read. Not just content, but the physical act of reading. If you take college courses online now, as my kid is doing and I am getting ready to do once again, you usually do not even get books anymore. They are all online. What was once a novel new thing with Kindles and e-readers is now standard for higher education in many places.
