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From the Pen to the Keyboard

Essay on the use of social media in communication and affecting cultural change
Jennifer Lares
California State University, Long Beach









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Abstract
In this paper I will discuss the topics of writing as a form of technology, the transition of literacy
from print to digital; and how it affects change in American culture. The uses of technology in
American society have a dramatic effect in not only how people communicate but also in how
people proceed in their daily lifestyle. Technologies like social medias are not fads but keys that
have unlocked the door of communication. There is free flowing traffic of various types of
media that are now shared among internet users. The American public should take note this
media because these means of sharing and communicating will inviolably change the future of
American culture.
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From the Pen to the Keyboard
INTRODUCTION
The state of living in the 21st Century can be described as being driven by developments
of technology for progression; and with progression comes change to the status quo. When the
status quo changes history has taught us that people begin to reveal layers of their character
never before seen. Unfortunately, some of those layers are unpleasant, even dangerous. In this
essay I will reveal two main points about todays technology development in social media and
how they can cause an upset to our status quo as a nation.
First, the development of social medias over the course of the last thirty years is no
different from the invention of the printing press, the pencil or writing itself. Technology is
merely a new mode of communication that people use to relay a message between each other.
The second point I will make is that because technology is a new form of communication it is
also a resource for sharing knowledge that can cause cultural change. A mode of technology like
social media, information graphics, video, vlogs and blogs have all carried out awareness,
increased communication, influenced decisions, affected peoples manner of their actions and has
caused change in how people interact with each other. All of this communication is a cultural
change in how American society will continue to evolve. The communication has also caused an
effect in how people interact at a global level.



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Writing and literacy effect
In early Greece, two of the most popularly known Philosophers Plato and Socrates both
argued that the invention of writing was going to be devastating to the human mind.
Walter Ong, noted:
Platos Socrates also holds it against writing that the written word cannot
defend itself as the natural spoken word can: real speech and thought
always exist essentially in the context of struggle. Writing is passive. . .
(p. 21)
Their theory was that the use of writing words deteriorated a persons memory. When a person
writes words down they cannot argue or articulate their points well in speech. In addition, if
someone relies solely on paper they would be less likely to recall their words for argument from
memory but instead have to rely on a piece paper to communicate their side of the argument. The
foundation of these arguments against writing words down was that it takes away from oral
tradition, it limits the memory of a person and that it minimizes the communication between two
people exchanging ideas. Now, fast forward a few centuries to the invention of the pencil and
the printing press.
The use of pencils and the printing press revolutionized the importance of literacy and
writing of words. Writing became a means for businessmen and high society aristocrats used to
communicate. Writing was a means to an end; but when the printing press started mass
producing books like, the Bible and many other texts there was a cultural change. More people
from all levels of society desired to read. It was no longer business men and women in high
society who read books for leisure or to understand the terms of a business contract. Instead,
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farmers, merchants, and women who school taught their children at home were reading and
sharing their knowledge. This sharing of knowledge caused an upset. Why? When the
vernacular becomes printed theres room for interpretation of an individual mind. What does that
mean for those in high society and who have powerful leverage? They will no longer have the
same status quo. Their means of life will change because when a persons mind becomes
conscious and self aware that individual can now decipher for themselves if their current means
of living is suitable or if there is need for change. A farmer and merchant can negotiate fees for
their supply and demand in the market place, not a corporate businessman.
The ability for people to read the daily newspaper gives awareness of what issues may be
happening in their community and government that can effect on their way of life. In the US,
because it is a democracy, educated readers have the right to object and speak out against issues
they feel will not benefit the majority. An extreme example of awareness and objection is
Nelson Mandelas imprisonment in South Africa during the Apartide. Nelson Mandela, was a
political prisoner on Robin Island in Cape Town, South Africa. Upon imprisonment on Robin
Island it was common for men to be silenced; however, Nelson Mandelas advocacy did not stop
when he arrived on the island. He taugh many of the other prisoners how to read and still
managed to hide it from the guards so they would not be beaten to death.
In an essay, Literacy and Individual Consciousness, by F. Niyi Aninnaso, he noted that
. . . literacy is given an extended definition to include ways of perceiving, thinking, speaking,
evaluating and interacting . . . (p.139). To be educated on how to read an write means that you
have the capability to function, make decisions and problem solve as an individual as well as in a
collaborative environment. There is no reason to depend on someone who is more educated to
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help make decisions on behalf of others. An individual can dictate the life they want to lead.
Literacy then can be the global term for all means of communication that aid in the
understanding and bringing awareness to the mind. In the 21st century literacy can now include
the use of computers and social media. If literacy includes the use of the digital realm then
students of all ages need to be informed on how to conduct themselves as citizens in the digital
format.
Participatory citizenship
Digital citizenship is a huge step towards debating dangerous issues like, identity theft,
fraud and plagiarism in the digital realm. Digital citizenship is taught primarily in K-12
classrooms that incorporate technology into the curriculum. Students are informed what it means
to be consciences about the dangers of interacting with others in a digital format. These issues
can range from gender switching, plagiarism of assignments, and cyberbullying. Digital
citizenship is not just about protecting ones self from the dangers of the digital realm but it is
also a guide on how an individual should be conducting themselves online with others in all
forums.
The use of social media has evolved from social interactions with friends and family to
connections that include professional meetings and even job interviews that take place across the
nation and even the globe. This means that interactions online cannot be just informal
interactions on Skype in your bedroom as the background but instead means that people need to
know how to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all forms of social media.
Unfortunately, what we are finding is that many professionals who are use to not having to
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communicate with others in their field have to change and adapt to a culture that requires them to
work with others.
Participatory culture is not new to American society. What is new is the combination of
participatory and technology. The mode of communicating in an online forum takes away from
tone and facial expression when two people communicate. This means that the culture in how
people interact with each other in online forums, video communication like Skype are slightly
different; but those interactions have to translate to in person meetings well. In a professional
environment constants need to be able to convey that the identity that is shared in an online
forum is the same identity in a face to face interaction to build trust in business relationships.
Participatory culture also involves creating a personal learning network where a student or
professional can build a community of resources form their professional relationships. People
can now have references shared in a public format that support the quality of their work or soft
skills that transcends to any job they take on. The literacy of writing and reading in a digital
form have completely altered how Americans communicate socially and professionally. Literacy
is no longer confined to only the powerful and rich. But is an open format for all to logon to and
share knowledge.
On the other hand, critics of of technology state say that, The best way to view
technology is as a intruder to remember that technology is no part of Gods plan but a product of
human creativity and hubris. . . (Postman). Writing and any means of communication even
speech can be considered unnatural. Humans had to learn how to communicate with one
another, which led to the invention of of language, the alphabet, writing and computers.
Technology has only amplified the power of words through sharing.
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Social Media is Mightier Than the Pen
Contrary to Plato, Socrates and Ong the use of the pen and printing words has proven
more beneficial and necessary in our society. In fact, it is more common when a person wants to
be taken seriously about what he or she plans to do, they are often asked to put in writing as a
guarantee that certain actions will take place. Thus proving that the printed word is not passive.
Although the words on a page cannot yell back or argue with the reader, social media has opened
the door for the writer and reader to converse directly. There is no more middle man or delay in
time for readers to disagree with a writers statements or agree with praise. Social media was
initially an instant messaging system that allowed researchers to communicate over time and
distance. However, what is important to notice are the cultural changes that have occurred with
the incorporation of social medias into the main stream for general public use.
Social media forums are used to not just share pictures of family vacations, post news
about their day, but people use it to advocate about issues that are important to the people in their
network. Popular events like Avon Breast Cancer Walk or other smaller events like a local high
school team raising funds for their uniforms, are all events shared with their friends and family
who can participated either by donating online, supporting them through the sharing of postings
or showing up at the event.
In a documented interview with Randi Zuckerberg, titled, Accidental Activist: Using
Facebook to Drive Change; he notes that there are many different uses for Facebook as a
platform for broadcasting messages across the nation and even the world. What may contribute
to this extensive use of Facebook is that it is an open forum that requires little technical training
and allows authors to share their voices to not only their network of friends but to literally have
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their words spread like wild fire; thus opening the door to the liberties of free speech to other
countries where their voice might be silenced otherwise. (Journal of International Affairs and
Zuckerberg, 178).

Digital Activism
Last year, 2011 two organizations, Adbusters and Anonymous started publicizing an
event on Facebook called, Occupy Wall Street, an event that took place on September 17,
2011. The goal of the event was to peacefully protest against acts of manipulation and
exploitation of people who were believed to have suffered the loss of their homes due to
questionable ethics with big banking companies. This event was announced on Facebook and on
the day of the protest gained national news coverage for weeks (Huffington Post, 2011). The act
was so powerful and profound in the communication of Adbusters blog, tweets and Facebook.
The communication built such a strong following that the event was no longer just about
occupying Wall Street. Activist began protesting all over the nation stating occupy, Los
Angeles, Berkley, Washington DC, and even in other parts of the world as the weeks progressed.
To this day there are groups of people who have decided to take action against other injustices
that they see in their communities. Their advocacy is posted on Twitter, written in blog forums
on Adbusters and these conversations continued in various social medias to this day.
The effects of Adbusters and Anonymous wanting and demanding change resulted in
echo that could be heard about across the country. What was also interesting to see in
commentaries on some social medias, was that some pro-protesters were surprised there was not
enough mainstream news coverage being shared. Nevertheless, people were sharing their
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experiences of seeing the occupy movement spread all over social media through live
streaming videos, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. As the year progressed this echo of change
may have also affected the results of the presidential vote for 2012.
This years elections cause a stir with Obama being elected for a second term. More
interestingly was that race seemed to be play a bigger role than in the 2008 election. Regardless,
Obama is one of the only presidents to have actively incorporated social media in his campaign
and it is speculated that his use of social media reached out to more of the younger voters than
any other democratic or republican candidate. Did this have an affect on the voting results? Did
social media cause some additional awareness as Facebook and Instagram flooded the pages with
their I Voted sticker pictures? Or was this a change that was ready to happen based off of the
previous political occurrences like, Occupy Wall Street?
The results of the election, left a bitter sweet taste for the American public. Postings of
proud voters who were happy to see their candidate win and continue his work filled their status
pages. While others who were disappointed spread comments of biases and angry messages that
reflect their dissatisfaction, which might reveal fear of possible change to their status quo.
There is little doubt that there are changes occurring in American culture. There is just no clear
vision of how the American culture will change. What we can be sure of is, Rather one must say
that the technological deck has been stacked in advance to favor certain social interests and that
some people were bound to receive a better hand than others. (Weinner, 26). There is no
concrete method of determining who will likely gain the full advantage of social media
communication. The weight is looking to tip towards youth and those who are not afraid to
venture into the digital realm. One major concern of caution about the use of social media is that
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what a person says is long term and can have a domino effect not only for political means but
also spill over into their personal lives.

Warning: Words Last Forever in Online Space
An instance of a vlog post effecting a persons life is a University of California, Los
Angeles student, Alexandra Wallace, who vented in a YouTube video posted as, Asians at
UCLA. Once the video posted it spread like a virus all over YouTube and has since been
recognized as a Racist Rant. Wallaces video is a prime example that reinforces the fact that
people do not fully understand the power of voice and that their words in print or expressed
orally can in fact impact more than just their profile status.
After the flood of responses and parodies of Wallaces video rant she released an apology
to the press. Sadly, the apology was too little too late. Since the video went viral she was
harassed on campus, received many threats and as a result decided to dis-enroll at UCLA after
completing her last classes. Ong noted that if an untruth is printed and if copies are made to
be shared to millions then that untruth is forever (Ong, 21). Although, Ong may have meant that
lies can be considered truth, in this case Asians in the Library video will last forever as an
extreme example of what happens when a persons vlog goes viral. The same scenario
happens with a Facebook post that is copied and shared throughout the internet.
Social media can now spread vernacular and print documentation in open forum. It is no
longer a game of telephone or gossip. Instead, the actual words and face of people making the
statement are share as primary documents. Social media is no different than the sharing of any
vernacular story or printed document. The bigger issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of
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awareness that a persons voice or comment has in their network. The commentary we express
in our networks is no longer bound by the means of walls in a classroom, building or confined to
the pages of a journal. Instead, when a person shares their ideas, statements, photos and video in
an online format they open themselves to a world with limitless connections. Their words and
voice are shared as is and spread like fire from one computer to another. Humans need to
communicate and no matter the mode of that communication it will be shared. It is time that
citizens take responsibility and finally understand that power of their words.

Conclusion
If words are technology, then both are neutral, and both words and any form of
technology can be used for good or bad. Words have always had the influence to inspire and
cause demise no matter the mode of communication, whether that be print, a speech, vlog or
blog. All of these are modes of technology which can be considered communication ecology
(Postman). What one person becomes familiar with eventually becomes natural (Baron, 83). It
is like learning a new dance, it is all about practice to build muscle memory. Training the brain
to to deviate away from the familiar is always a challenging, but humans did not survive this
long on Earth by not adapting. When humans adapt there is always a cultural change and at the
center of that change is literacy.
Literacy has been a catalyst for cultural change. Literacy educates and develops the
human mind to higher levels cognitive thinking and understanding. The 21st century has already
revealed trends of change in how people think. Many of those thoughts are shared on social
media platforms. Events like, Occupy Wall Street display the power words those have to cause
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action. If this change is a new evolution, it may not be the strongest who survive. Instead, the
evolution is going to demand citizens who know how to communicate and collaborate both in the
digital realm as well as face to face to survive. This is how technology has changed our culture
today. It is only a matter of time until we see it fully unfold to reveal an a new age of American
identity.



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References

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Anonymous. (Aug. 31, 2011). Occupy wall street, Sept. 17.
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1050415. (March 15, 2011). **Original** asians at UCLA. http://youtu.be/7B8xKVHPOlc