New Literacy by Clive Thompson

In the article New Literacy by Clive Thomson, Clive Thompson takes the position that the internet is improving the literacy standards of the new generation. He provides support of his argument by quoting research done by Andrea Lunsford in Stanford University. In her research, Andrea Lunsford tries to show that the internet is improving literacy rates because people write specific content with the audience in mind. They are very concise and don’t waste too many words.

I agree with the position of Clive Thompson regarding literacy and the internet. However the argument is not very strong since it has only one supporting statement and that is based on someone else’s research. The whole argument sounds like its mainly publicity and exposure for the research of Andrea Lunsford. The argument would’ve been better and more effective if he had included other supporting statements. Also he should’ve brought up the opposing view and showed how they are wrong. His argument and credibility is further damaged when he says things like “…online media are pushing literacy into cool directions.” This makes it sound like he’s trying to show that he knows how young people think and act, when in fact he doesn’t.