Post by phoebeross on Jul 28, 2011 11:56:23 GMT -5
In William Deresiewicz's "The End of Solitude", Deresiewicz paints a world based on the assumption of complete media immersion and neglect of self. Regardless wether this is an accurate depiction or not, Deresiewicz misaligns the impact of modern technology on the self, and communication.
Technology guides our world, our social capabilities, and our lifestyles. Throughout the past, we have grown with technology, wether it be the invention of the printing press or of the internet. Deresiewicz speaks of, "... reading's essential role in this transformation, the printing press serving an analogous function in the 16th and subsequent centuries to that of television and the Internet in our own." While Deresiewicz's analysis of the connection between the roles of reading and internet is sound, where he loses me is his glorification of reading's benefits for solitude. Deresiewicz states, “It is with Romanitcism that solitude achieved its greatest cultural salience, becoming both literal and literary.” First of all, not only was this idea of Romanticism’s solitude passed by literary text, communication, idealizing solitude and its benefits, but, the reading that is supposed to give solitude, seems to me to do just the opposite. The text quotes Marilynne Robinson, “Reading, as Robinson puts it, 'is an act of great inwardness and subjectivity.'” Though reading does call for self reflection, reading is also the communication of ideas from one person to another. Like today's constant texting and social networking, technology allows one person to reach out to reach millions. I argue we are not losing ourselves anymore with today’s technology than we were with the first printing press. When a book was passed from one person to the next, it passed not only the concrete object, but also the author’s abstract ideas, thoughts, and self. As others read the book, people could reflect on their own self, and build based on the book, which was ideas and thoughts of someone else’s self. Though you may read alone, one does not read in solitude, for you are reading bits of someone else’s self. Similarly, today the internet and cell phones are having a homologous impact. Sure, the technology has changed from paper to screen, but the idea still remains the same. Technology makes it easier, faster, for two selves to connect, to build off each other. As technology grows, our lives grow with it. When the teen girl doesn’t want to be alone when she writes her paper, the reality is, when she is an adult who has to be in constant contact due to growing technology, she’ll have to write a paper with the technology, and input of others. Unless a person was raised with no human contact, and happened to develop their own system of writing, and recorded their thoughts, there is no untouched, uninfluenced piece of writing. Deresiewicz creates his point on the premise of the solitude in writing and reading. However, like today’s texting, calling, emailing and IMing, there is no true work of thought purely from one person. There is no person who has escaped the influence of another.
Technology guides our world, our social capabilities, and our lifestyles. Throughout the past, we have grown with technology, wether it be the invention of the printing press or of the internet. Deresiewicz speaks of, "... reading's essential role in this transformation, the printing press serving an analogous function in the 16th and subsequent centuries to that of television and the Internet in our own." While Deresiewicz's analysis of the connection between the roles of reading and internet is sound, where he loses me is his glorification of reading's benefits for solitude. Deresiewicz states, “It is with Romanitcism that solitude achieved its greatest cultural salience, becoming both literal and literary.” First of all, not only was this idea of Romanticism’s solitude passed by literary text, communication, idealizing solitude and its benefits, but, the reading that is supposed to give solitude, seems to me to do just the opposite. The text quotes Marilynne Robinson, “Reading, as Robinson puts it, 'is an act of great inwardness and subjectivity.'” Though reading does call for self reflection, reading is also the communication of ideas from one person to another. Like today's constant texting and social networking, technology allows one person to reach out to reach millions. I argue we are not losing ourselves anymore with today’s technology than we were with the first printing press. When a book was passed from one person to the next, it passed not only the concrete object, but also the author’s abstract ideas, thoughts, and self. As others read the book, people could reflect on their own self, and build based on the book, which was ideas and thoughts of someone else’s self. Though you may read alone, one does not read in solitude, for you are reading bits of someone else’s self. Similarly, today the internet and cell phones are having a homologous impact. Sure, the technology has changed from paper to screen, but the idea still remains the same. Technology makes it easier, faster, for two selves to connect, to build off each other. As technology grows, our lives grow with it. When the teen girl doesn’t want to be alone when she writes her paper, the reality is, when she is an adult who has to be in constant contact due to growing technology, she’ll have to write a paper with the technology, and input of others. Unless a person was raised with no human contact, and happened to develop their own system of writing, and recorded their thoughts, there is no untouched, uninfluenced piece of writing. Deresiewicz creates his point on the premise of the solitude in writing and reading. However, like today’s texting, calling, emailing and IMing, there is no true work of thought purely from one person. There is no person who has escaped the influence of another.