The definition of literacy needs to go beyond one's ability to read and write. In this day and age, an individual must pursue an understanding and an ability to participate in digital culture to become a fully literate human being. In the conclusion of Convergence Culture, Jenkins states the challenge is "not simply being able to read and write, but being able to participate in the deliberations over what issues matter" (Pg. 269). In the conclusion of this book, Jenkins makes the argument that simply being a monitorial citizen does not make a person a productive member of the media society. In our day and age, we must define literacy in terms of one's ability to read, write, and participate.
Just as Jenkins highlights in his example of CNN and YouTube partnering to broadcast a political debate centered around questions directly from citizens, our participation in media must extend into the political realm. During a class that I took last semester called Political Communication, we discussed how our overflow of information actually pressures us to be less directly involved in politics. This is the case because we oftentimes feel so involved in the political process through the media's lens that we unconsciously convince ourselves that we don't need to be a part of the voting process. In the mind of a monitorial citizen, there is no need to formulate personalized opinions because one can simply quaff the opinions of the talking heads on television and digest them for what they are without fully processing their implications.
To this end, Jenkins warns against the notion that democracy is an "inevitable outcome of technological change" (Pg. 294). In order to allow for the internet to truly blossom into its potential for a more democratic and just society, we must become conscience consumers of our media. Our media is currently full of garbled messages and frivolous information but, as Jenkins states, we are not to believe that the only true alternative is to "opt out of media altogether and live in the woods, eating acorns and lizards and reading only books published on recycled paper by small alternative presses" (Pg. 259). Instead, he challenges us to "tap media power for our own purposes" (Pg. 260). In doing so, we become literate in the light of an updated definition.
Monitorial citizenship is a temptation, but "the advent of new production tools and distribution channels have lowered barriers of entry into the marketplace of ideas" (Pg. 293). If we are to see a more politically and socially healthy society, we must neither reject virtual media altogether nor blindly grasp it fully. We must critically engage and contribute to the space, always airing on the side of skepticism while maintaining a faith in the value of collective knowledge and the power of a diverse set of ideas coinciding within a single medium.
I agree with your approach of critically engaging while also airing on the side of skepticism. By taking and maintaining this approach I believe that we will be able to better create and better understand the value that can and does exist with knowledge communities. We are able to see this type of approach throughout Jenkins' work as he continuously and openly embraces and challenges the ideas he sets forth and analyzes through case studies.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit on the touchstones for a thriving convergence culture. I totally agree that participation is a gauge for measuring people's success in today's world of digital media. I mentioned in my blog post the how inundation of information makes me less involved in politics, and it's interesting to hear that this issue is surfacing in other classes. I can certainly relate to the stance of monitorial citizens, feeling uninspired or unmotivated to form an opinion and engage in democracy, but I think you're right in saying that we need to maintain faith in the Internet's ability to help us participate in the public arena collectively.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you should bring up this point. I'm reading a book called Tribes at the moment, and one of the author's points is that being a part of a group (Facebook, specifically, but it applies to pretty much anything) doesn't matter that much. It's what you do with that group membership that counts. His example was a FB page he created for an internship position; 66 people joined, and within hours about 20 of them were actively posting and commenting, and the rest just lurked. He asked, "Which ones would you hire?"
ReplyDeleteObviously, in our culture, the ones who are participating are the ones who will be heard, be noticed, and ultimately make a difference.
I would like to first present something that offers a contrast to the CNN/YouTube Debates:
ReplyDeleteThe CNN Hologram:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg&feature=related
Anybody else remember this? I haven't had much time to watch cable news lately so I don't know if they're still doing this, but I remember when I first watched this and thought that the producers at CNN had gone off the deep end (I guess it was cool in a Star Wars kind of way but why on earth was it necessary?). The hologram is a great example of how technology can actually work against more democratic processes. Obviously, average Joe is never going to get "beamed" in and participate in this CNN endeavor.
I agree that participation is vital but how do we go about doing it? Should there be prerequisites to participation? I don't want to reach too far here, but I'm just not sure our nation's secondary schools (as well as certain segments of our higher learning institutions) are preparing citizens to actively engage with one another.
Speaking to contemporary "literacy": I was in an interview a few weeks ago for an internship in which I thought I would be merely making copies and editing minor texts. My supervisor asked me about my ability to maneuver the internet, my experience with social networking sites, and my familiarities with media-editing software. Like it or not, all of these things have become (maybe not essential but) far more important to becoming literate in this day and age than when our parents were finishing school and applying for jobs. Employers are no longer necessarily impressed with 100 word per minute typing. They want 100 hits per minute on the viral video you just made for them. And yet schools are not teaching students to be multi-media literate.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think that being able to participate in digital culture is a vital skill for many, if not all, of today's jobs. it's even crazier to know that this skill is learned at such a young age now and in our own homes. I remember starting to chat via MSN messenger in middle school...maintaining five conversations simultaneously. My literacy in media culture started at home and is nevertheless, continuing at home. These skills are just not taught in the classrooms because it is assumed students have already developed the skills elsewhere.
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