The Writing Experience - Digital Vs. Manual

Up until about a year a year after I got out of high school, writing with a pen and paper used to be my preference. I felt like I was able to have better flow with my writing when I manually wrote down my words, versus when I would type on the computer.  I would just get distracted by all of the gadgets and formatting options that went with working with a word processor.  My spelling also used to be a lot better when I was to write things out by hand.  However, it wasn't the computer that destroyed that for me - it was auto correct on my cell phone.  It has gotten to the point where I don't even have to think about that i am trying to spell.  I now rely so heavily on the crutches of digital technology, with both phones and computers, that it takes away from the writing and grammar abilities that I used to posses.  I feel like it has actually "dumbed" down my writing abilities.

Back in the time that Helen Keller wrote her book, she did not have the option of writing with a digital interface.  There was no choice but to write by hand or with a type writer, meaning that she did not have the luxury of the editing programs that we have now.  This does make it a little more challenging, but it isn't always the best thing to have.  These tools end up being used as a crutch for lazy writers.  Other than the obvious inhibiting factors that Helen Keller had to go through, from my personal experience, I find that working on a non-digital medium is better for writing integrity.  

Being Anonymous Online

I was looking at some You Tube comments recently and the common theme that I saw was that the people commenting have no filters with what they post.  Why is this? It is directly related to the fact that these people are posting anonymously, allowing for people to be brutally honest (and even rude in some cases) because nobody knows who you are. Being a faceless person on the internet, people have more confidence to say what is actually on their minds when they would usually be to scared to do so. In a face-to-face conversation, you cannot get away with the same things as if you were to post a comment on YouTube or talk to someone in a chat room.  It allows people to be more truthful and more “themselves” when they can post as person without an identity. However, by having this anonymous voice with no consequences, people can say some pretty mean things to people.  For example, if you have ever seen the Rebecca black video “Friday,” it is kind of crazy what some people can say to other people when their reputation isn’t on the line.  In a face-to-face situation if you say something controversial to somebody it can lead to you being reprimanded or judged in a certain way, which not many people enjoy. I can guarantee that if these people were to talk to her face-to-face, most of the people who said those things would keep it to themselves.
 

The other thing about anonymous posting is that, when nobody knows your background, age, or gender, there isn’t really any pre-judging on the comments beforehand.  For example: if you want to voice your opinion on a certain subject, you could be some twenty year old college student or a forty year old man with a masters degree, and until you read the post, you wouldn’t be able to judged the author from their qualifications.  I understand that you could probably decipher which person posted which, but it equals the playing field of the judging that would happen beforehand.  This also can do with gender and race as well.  There are still many people in this world that will judge people based on their gender, and race for how valuable their opinions are. With the ability to make posts anonymously, nobody will know who it is so they won’t be able to pre-judge before they see the post.  There is a video on YouTube of a person posting anonymously, where he states, “I just want to discuss topics… because if people knew who I am, they may not be as inclined to talk to me about these things.”  It is a perfect explanation on how being anonymous can help get their word across, no matter what age, race, gender or background they have, they can still get their point across without being judged. This allows the people who are posting to be more truthful and honest with how they feel.