Writing in the 21st century is undoubtedly different than ever before, but is it a wholly different experience? One still goes through the same mental processes of creating and communicating, but the opportunities are far greater. More people may contribute to writing, and reach a greater audience.
Mass circulation from social media sites gives a writer or writers the ability to reach a greater audience. The audience is now able to give their input to the writing through comments, and writing becomes more of a conversation. The digital age has provided to writers the ease of creating online communities. Through simply searching a hashtag on Twitter, one can find news, respond to trending ideas, and even spark a movement. By following subreddits on Reddit, users can keep up with their favorite topics, ask questions, and find new ideas. Facebook allows friends and friends of friends to connect. They share their own ideas and the ideas they find on other sites. Online communities are formed through social media, where users may exchange ideas, stories, etc.
The speed at which this happens is what I believe to be revolutionary. One may connect to the entire world simply through a post. This allows more ideas to spread quicker and easier. More people are also able to contribute writing. Prior to the digital age, only author's works were read. With the rise of digital technology, anyone's ideas can circulate through social media. As long as someone has access to a computer, they may share their ideas with a larger community. The introduction of tablets and especially smart phones allows people to spend hours a day finding, sharing, and posting ideas to the internet. Writing is not a wholly different experience, but what happens to the writing is. The degree of circulation reached now is unparalleled to any other time throughout history.
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