Journal Response 1

In a sense, I do think that writing in the 21st century is a different experience than it was before digital technology emerged because of the mediums we use to write and communicate our information, as well as the ways we spread our writing out to an audience. However, I do think that writing is still the same now as before the digital era because it is still a way of sharing and expressing our thoughts.

Whether if it’s writing using a pen and paper or using a computer to type out the words, the act of “writing” is still being done for the same purpose. The only difference is that writing before the digital age was probably more tangible and more physical. Writing on a piece of paper can change the way that the message is perceived and it is also a bit harder to share to a large audience. The writing done on digital devices like our smartphones, laptops, computers, etc., has the ability to be sent out to and posted on a global network by using social media, blogs, and other websites. The audience that can be reached through the writing digitally is huge, and it is as simple as just posting something on Facebook and reaching hundreds of friends which can share the post or tweeting or having the ability for others to retweet. Before the Internet, if someone wanted to share his or her thoughts to a large amount of people, it was nearly impossible to do. Nowadays, if someone wants to share something they think is important or have a story to tell, they can post it online and there is a chance that the message will be spread throughout a large audience. For instance, a lot of aspiring writers and artists use social media websites to get their word out and sometimes they actually make it big. I remember recently there was this young woman who posted a long series of tweets explaining a story about a fallout with a friend she had, and her tweets became so popular that she gained thousands of followers and her story made big headlines online. It really shows how much “revolutionary” writing has become in this century.