Is Writing Still Relevant?
Rapid pace of change
We live in extraordinary times. As someone familiar with the history of ideas, I would compare the present to the beginning of the modern era in the 1400s and 1500s. At that time, e.g. printing, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the "discovery" of new continents significantly shaped the world and worldview.
This time, the drivers of a completely new kind of change in time are the birth of the internet, strong digitalization, space travel, neo-spirituality, etc. Of course, the world is constantly changing, but at the moment the pace of change is unparalleled, and the closest point of comparison is probably the beginning of a new era about 500 years ago.
Why write a blog?
This change has also profoundly affected the way we communicate. Books are changing to audiobooks and videos; blogs to vlogs. So why still write a blog today?
Even though audiobooks, podcasts and videos have gradually changed and are becoming people's main source of information, I think written text still has its own value. Below I have listed a couple of its positive aspects:
1. Through reading, you can get the necessary information quickly and easily.
Of course, it depends on the reader's own reading speed and ability to internalize information. However, I've found that it's much faster and easier for me to absorb the text I've read, especially if I'm looking for something fact-based. I also prefer to read fiction as a traditional book.
Despite this, I also watch videos and listen to audiobooks. However, I think they are better suited to situations where I am doing something else. For example, videos work well for breakfast and audiobooks and podcasts work well for walks.
2. I also want to write text because it is a form of expression that helps clarify one's own thoughts and bring structure to them.
In the same way as having a conversation or talking to the camera, writing helps you get your thoughts in order. In addition, writing like a conversation or talking to the camera often opens up to different things.
Technological revolution challenges writing and reading
Nowadays, there is also a lot of talk about how smartphones and their videos, for example, impair learning and concentration. Less commonly, the same conversation takes place when it comes to reading or writing. Here, too, for example, writing a blog for readers has its own place. In the words of Jörn Donner's advertising slogan: "Reading is always worthwhile." I therefore believe that the art of writing and reading will continue to stand the test of time.
Although I think it is important, especially in the case of children and young people, to stop and consider how badly new technologies hinder learning, we should not also ignore the fact that new technological developments can also improve and increase learning. YouTube, for example, enables better instructions for building or learning something visually, for example.
Therefore, the problem is not necessarily new technological opportunities, but how they are used and exploited. In my opinion, it is important to focus on the ethics of different technological platforms. For example, is it right that social media platforms are built to be as addictive as possible, making users addicted in a similar way to drugs or gambling? This is particularly worrying for children and young people who are still developing.
The use and planning of various technological tools for constructive action requires, among other things, education, the use of reason and ethics. Therefore, to the worldview, spirituality, morality, etc. The questions are by no means confined to the old world - there is perhaps more need for them than there has been for a long time. It is an illusion to think that technology or scientific progress somehow makes questions of values and worldview irrelevant - quite the opposite. Technological steps forward are often double-edged swords that can be used for either good or evil.
Traditional writing and reading have thus been strongly challenged by new technological inventions. Nevertheless, I believe that they still have their place. Perhaps you could also think that being able to write and publish this kind of reflection for people around the world in an instant has also made writing and reading easier. In the old world, such a technological possibility could hardly have been dreamed of exactly. Thus, technological advances do not always only challenge writing and reading - they can also serve it in a constructive way.