Simone Grant

ENGW1111
Musselman
Project 1, Draft 3
Word Count: 1346
Natural Selection and the Written Word
Reading is essential. It is taught as essential since the first few days of Kindergarten, when we
learn to make the sounds that are necessary to put together words, which make sentences and contain
information and string together grammar so everything makes perfect sense. For every year that we are in
school, we learn to read and interpret and think more about reading. Eventually, we even write about
reading. As a society, we cannot just get rid of it like last weeks lunch meat. Reading has been around
since 3100BC (Kilmon, History of Writing), and now it is being used to order our Happy Meals with
maximum efficiency. Reading is too convenient to do away with. With that being said, I do not believe
reading is the same as it was 5,000 years ago, and I do not think it will stay the same in the years to come.
The world of books has changed drastically in the last 5-10 years. As computers become more
and more efficient, it becomes less necessary for books, newspapers, and other forms of printed media to
be- well, printed. The idea of the ebook emerged in 1970s from the Gutenburg project (theguardian,
eBook timeline) and became more popular as ebook readers gained in popularity. With the rise of the
internet, information is readily available at the fingertips of anyone with a device and internet access. In
my opinion, this makes books like encyclopedias obsolete and changes how most research is done in the
world, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Ursula le Guin, author of The Books of Earthsea and an essay titled Staying Awake, seems to
hold the opinion that the changes weve seen in recent years is not quite as promising due to the
overbearing presence of moneymaking publishing companies and stockholders. These people have money
as their primary motivation in choosing whether or not to publish a book, and only books which sell make
the cut.

While I do believe this is true and that money-making has taken the reigns for the deciding factor
in whether or not a book is published, I do not believe the notorious bad guys are making an enormous
difference in the reading habits of people today. People are still reading, even though it might be done
differently from traditional definition of literature. We can say with absolute certainty that the youth
certainly dominate social media currently, with internet users ages 18-29 using Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and Pinterest (Duggan, et al., Key Social Networking). 58% of the population claims to be
involved in at least 1 social media site (Statistic Brain, Social Networking Statistics), but that number
jumps dramatically to 90% when those who are surveyed are age 30 or under, according to a library study
on the habits of young adults. (Zickuhr, et al. Younger Americans and Public Libraries).
The amount of time that the average young person spends on social media is roughly 3.8 hours.
(MarketingCharts, Social Networking Eats 3+ hours/day) I say roughly, because I believe this number
can be influenced based on the type of person as well as the variety of social networks that can be
included in this definition; the above statistic appears to use all of them. While all social networking has
some degree of entertainment through art, videos, or gaming, the bulk of all websites is still made up of
text. Cold, hard text. It is social networking, after all, and the easiest way to talk to people over the
internet is by typing to them.
It is a bit hard to estimate exactly how much text is being seen in a normal situation, so for the
purposes of this Im going to use some of my own experiences. After spending 5 minutes on Tumblr, Ive
read 696 words, and that was at a slower pace than normal in order to keep up the recording. If I spent
about 3.8 hours a day on Tumblr at an average speed of 8352 words per hour (Thomas, Average Reading
Speed) equals 31,738 words. This is anywhere from 106-127 pages in a general length novel (Cabot,
FAQ on Getting Published), and thats after reading at a very slow pace. This number could rise or fall
based on how text-oriented the network is (for example, those on YouTube will see less text than those on
Facebook). Either way, this is a significantly large amount of text to be read, enough to put a dent in all
but the thickest books. Since this theoretical novel doesnt have much of a connected plot, most

traditionalists who stick only to print books would most likely say that this does not count. However, it
does consistently hold the interest of people from day to day. Most importantly, it claims the reading that
is not being done by people is, in fact, happening even if it is not through traditional means.
Even without the supporting evidence from above, People are reading actual books as well. In a
survey, people under 30 read at least 1 book per day 46% of the time. People tended to read more at
younger ages, and less over the age of 65. Around 50% of people of all ages visited a public library in the
last year of 2012, and most people report their library visitation habits to be about the same. (Zickuhr,
et al.) Younger people tend to read more than those who are older, most likely because those who are
younger tend to follow the social phenomenon for reading mentioned above. The reading habits of
Americans simply havent changed.
And yet, despite these statistics, people will loudly exclaim that the act of reading is a doomed art
.While it is true that a lot is changing, havent things always been changing? Le Guin states that the world
of reading noticeably shifted when women and slaves and everyone else were allowed to read and reading
moved from a skill of power to a tool for management. These changes were definitely for the better, even
if they did lead us to where they are now. But then the world shifted again, to a position where publishers
and fat cats gained power over books, because power was in money. It seems that now, in this new,
digital age, publishers are losing a great segment of their power over what is read and who can read it.
Self-publishing is a more and more viable option. There are no longer any physical limitations to the
book, and it eliminates the need for a middleman, and this is being used by websites like Booksurge,
blurb, smashwords, and Amazon (thegoodwebguide, Best Sites for Self Publishing). People, for once,
are gaining the power over books. That is, in my opinion, where it belongs when it comes to matters of
the creative arts.
In spite of the evidence, people argue that modern times have somehow defiled the sacred act of
reading, like the very thought of electricity in anything other than a lightbulb has tainted its presence. I
think traditionalists who say that reading wont be the same should re-examine their argument. Reading

is not in any real danger as long as it continues to change. I would be more worried if it were not
changing, and efforts were made to keep books exactly the same way they have been for thousands of
years. Music, for instance, has undergone changes for as long as it has existed. From the simplest
drumbeats to the most complicated digital wavelengths, music downright refuses to stay the same for very
long. The mediums from which it is played, the style, and the rhythms are all much different than they
were 100 years ago, or 200, or 1,000, yet no one claims that music is on its way out of our lives. Reading
is not mutating until it is unrecognizable, and reading is not dying. Reading is evolving. It has shown that
it is here to stay, and I believe that it is all the more glorious for its resilience and ability to thrive
throughout history.
I encourage those who believe that reading is doomed and the end is nigh to take a second glance
at the technical evolution. Though some say it will be the death of the written word, it might just keep the
magnificence of reading alive.

Acknowledgements
Claire, Lilli and Patrick have offered plenty of flow advice and helped edit my stellar mistakes. Professor
Musselman has helped through extremely helpful commentary.
Works Cited

(1) The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. CIA, Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html>.
(2) Kilmon, Jack. History of Writing. Historian. Jack Kilmon, Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.historian.net/hxwrite.htm>.

(3) Social Networking Statistics. Statistic Brain. Statistic Brain, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Jan.
2015. <http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/>.
(4) Zickuhr, Kathryn, and Lee Rainie. Younger Americans and Public Libraries
(Summary). PewResearchCenter. PewResearchCenter, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/09/10/younger-americans-and-public-libraries/>.
(5) Staff, MarketingCharts. Social Networking Eats Up 3+ Hours Per Day For The Average
American User. Marketing Charts. Marketing Charts, 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/social-networking-eats-up-3-hours-per-day-forthe-average-american-user-26049/>.
(6) Thomas, Mark. What Is the Average Reading Speed and the Best Rate of Reading?
HealthGuidance. HealthGuidance, Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/13263/1/What-Is-the-Average-Reading-Speedand-the-Best-Rate-of-Reading.html>.
(7) Cabot, Meg. Frequently Asked Questions On Getting Published. Meg Cabot. Meg
Cabot, Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.megcabot.com/about-meg-cabot/frequentlyasked-questions-getting-published/>.
(8) Best Sites for Self-Publishing. thegoodwebguide. thegoodwebguide, Jan. 2013. Web.
29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/news-info/best-sites-digest/best-sitesself-publishing/15241>.
(9) le Guin, U. (2008, February). Staying Awake. Harpers Magazine, 14.
(10)
Duggan, M., Ellison, N. B., Lamp, C., Madden, M., & Lenhart, A. (2015).
Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms. Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networkingplatforms-2/
(11)
Ebook timeline. (2002). Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/jan/03/ebooks.technology