Literacy without Literature in the Digital Era

Abstract

The technological progress has transformed the world in such a way that it would be impossible to be recognized by the people living only a hundred years ago. Instant communication reduced physical distances to nothing. All our thoughts travel at the speed of light to reach the most remote corners of the planet. We do not have time to write full sentences or even full words anymore. We use emoticons and shortcuts, whereas punctuation has become optional. Does this affect the level of literacy in the younger generations? Have people been losing their ability to spell words because of the abuse of shortcuts such as: “lol” and “cf” (Romanian for “cefaci”)? In a world where we can express our opinion on absolutely anything, do we pay attention to what the others think or say? Do we still read real literature, or is literature old-fashioned since all the wisdom we need is now available on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, among others? Are we still able to vibrate with aesthetic pleasure reading a poem, or have we entered in the most pragmatic era of our existence as the only beings on Earth (still) able to create art? This research represents a version of the current reality.