by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I was driving one of the interminable carpools that I drive on a daily basis during the school year. This was a middle school one and there’s a new member in it. The girl was sitting in the front seat with me (my daughter still being too light to sit in the front seat with the airbag), and I tried to make conversation with her on the way to the school. The only problems with this are that I’m horrible at small-talk and I’m even worse making small-talk with pre-teens.
We made desultory conversation for a few minutes, mine of the stilted grownup variety. Then I asked hesitantly, “What do you like to do in your spare time after school?” Then I quickly added, in case she didn’t like to really do anything, “Or do you just like to chill out?”
“I like writing,” she said.
And I lit up. It’s funny how you have an instant connection with other writers, no matter the age, no matter the genre.
I keep hearing stories and reading articles about how the next generation has so much competing for their attention—that books are going to lose out. There have also been a few angst-ridden posts on how teens write poorly…that the texting culture has taken over.
In my admittedly unscientific observations, however, I see a lot of reading going on. But a lot of what I’m seeing just isn’t in a traditional format (print books and magazines). It’s happening on smartphones and iPads and Kindle Fires.
As far as I can tell, teens today write a heck of a lot more than the teens I knew back in the 80s. (I’m talking about general, non-creative writing). In the 80s, all the kids I knew spent hours on the phone. Now kids are all texting each other. Yes, it’s in shorthand. But they’re expressing their thoughts and feelings in words. When was the last time that happened in a conversational way since the development of the telephone? So they have an intimate connection with words (these days more through texting than email, as far as I can tell.)
I also continue running into kids who write. They usually come right out and tell me they’re writers, knowing that I’m a writer, myself. When I talk at the schools, there’s always at least one kid who comes up afterward to talk to me more about writing.
The books as we know them will probably change. The genres might change too, following the trends of the day. The important thing is the product—the story itself, and not the packaging. And the most important thing will still be readers. And these readers are still reading–despite the many sophisticated alternatives available to them.
That’s it for my observations, but I’m interested in hearing yours. What’s your outlook on the future of reading and writing for the next generation?
And Happy Labor Day to my friends in the States. :)
(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kusamakura/ )
The thing that all the doom-sayers completely miss is that this generation is growing up with WORDS as their primary communication. They spend all day with text. They interact via text. They’d rather text than talk.
The other interesting thing I once heard a pundit say was that the internet was making us all long-winded. He was bemoaning the lost of self-editing.
While I’ve seen the opposite (people write short and fast a lot), I do find myself taking the time to explain and explore more online than I might have long ago…. and I think, “there’s something wrong with that?”
A century ago, people wrote long and thoughtful letters. People reveled in words.
I really think reading and writing is on a boom.
Elizabeth – One of the things I try to impress on my students is that writing is writing. So many young people today keep blogs, communicate on social networking sites and so on and that is writing. It’s expressing oneself. And with today’s technology, it’s easier than it ever was to revise and edit so young people can focus on getting their thoughts “out there” without the grim thought of having to go back to the beginning if they miss out a word or change their minds about one part of what they write.
As to reading? Young people read in different ways today too. Perhaps not in the way they did a hundred years ago when I was young but still. They read news, blogs and yes, novels. They read other people’s thoughts. That is reading.
I have a young, 15-year-old friend who also writes. Very well. So creative. Active imagination. And gifted with the use of metaphor and description. So yes, I think our future is in some good hands.
Karen
Camille–Exactly. The interesting thing is that these kids also seem to get to the heart of what they’re wanting to express in words–whereas we might sometimes worry about our words being misunderstood (conveying sarcasm instead of something straightforward, etc.), they’ve got it figured out. They text so *much* that they’re experts at putting across their feelings and thoughts. I forgot also to mention Facebook status updates–also accounting for a huge amount of writing. With all the Twitter hoopla, I haven’t seen the kids tweet as much…mostly their parents. But with texting and FB, these kids spend a ton of time writing and reading as an intimate form of communicating.
I know a number of young mothers (my daughter included) who are reading to their little ones, taking them to children’s hours at libraries, setting an example by being readers themselves…so I agree. Though formats are changing, others are still alive and it looks good…
My daughter is only 12 but she writes (and reads) a lot. So do the majority of her close circle of friends. Perhaps there’s some selection bias there, but still. However, I can’t name any boys I know that like to write. I suppose that’s probably not terribly unusual. Even in adulthood (from casual observation of WKB bloggers) female writers seem to be more predominant. Last time I checked, about 70% of the folks who “liked” the WKB on Facebook are female.
I think kids still read and write, just with a different medium. I do worry about the bad grammar from texting, but I’m sure we’ll survive it.
Thanks for this positive take on new media. I agree: it’s still words–and I think we should encourage every young person who loves to read and write.
Margot–Oh, you’re right…the *editing* is easy and they can feel more relaxed about their first drafts (of any type of writing they’re engaged in.)
The reading is definitely different. And I’ve noticed the kids seem more analytical with what they’re reading, too.
Karen–Sounds like an amazing friend! I love hearing stories like that.
Mike–That’s a very apt observation! And I don’t think a single one of the young writers who have “outed” themselves to me were boys. But I do know a few avid boy readers–although the moms/dads have to put a ton of work into finding them books that suit their tastes. I know your daughter is a great reader–takes after her dad. :)
Alex–The grammar is creative. :) The spelling is, too!
Kenda–Oh, the library storytimes are huge!
Anne–I think they’re also encouraging each other–it just has to be the stuff they enjoy reading (Hunger Games comes to mind…and Twilight.)
When i was teaching i did nanowrimo with year nines – 13 or 14 year olds – and each year one or two would aim for the full 50thousand words rather than choosing a smaller goal. Older kids who weren’t doing it as part of their English program would opt in for fun.
As to reading, a bunch of my reluctant boys really got into a series by Robert Muchamore – kids as spies… fantastic and there are lots of books!
Amy–That’s fantastic! I love hearing that. :)
And my son has that whole series. :) But a caveat to American buyers–I had to have most of them shipped from England because it looked like a US publisher was wanting to re-release the whole series…with new, US covers and for a hardback price! Great series and worth the price of shipping from the UK. At the time, there wasn’t an e-version…not sure if that’s still the case.
I have plenty of clients of all ages that write. I find it thrilling. They aren’t discouraged because they and I know that since fire was invented there have been stories told around it. The technology has changed both for how the heat and the stories are delivered but we still need both.
I am so like you on that–I have trouble with small talk, but when I find a writer… all opens up. There are a couple kids I’ve run into with that and I love it. I think you’ve called it on the how changing. I see multimedia books… eBooks that have built in soundtracks or videos.
Jan–Ha! Hadn’t thought of it that way, but I love it. Yes, even the fire has changed. :)
Hart–I think your vision for the future sounds like a huge possibility. A multi-media, multi-format approach.
I think kids are writing more today than in past generations. There are so many more opportunities, when you count writing on blogs and Facebook pages and emails and even Tweets. And kids who write even short pieces on a blog or website are, I believe, more likely to write letters or even books.
This post made me smile! Writing and reading will not go away, and neither will storytelling. Like you said, just the format will change.
I’ve noticed that my 15 year old has long conversations with people via text. Then when he meets them in person for the first time, like a kid from another school, it’s as if they know each other well already. This shorthand type of communication actually helps sometimes!