End of Publishing As We Know it?
Posted by TheScene on January 27, 2009
With the rise of blogging, search engine optimization, page views, high speed internet service, Kindles, wireless internet access (ensuring near-constant connectivity), texting, emailing and even getting our internet via satellite, we are living in a world with a shockingly short attention span that we not only expect, we come to demand as the height of the modern person’s mind. We are constantly blasted with tiny pockets of information that we quickly process and discard, and some people insist that the American attention span is no longer trained to enjoy and understand a book. They are too long, too slow, and too boring. They don’t have the insane energy that is the only hope of capturing the attention of the populace.
I wildly disagree, and yet it is for that exact same reason. I think the frenetic pacing of the modern world demands a respite, a retreat, and that is exactly what books always have and will continue to provide. Books are a natural form of learning and escapism, even if, perhaps, the great lesson in them is simply learn how to escape-something you won’t find the answer to on eHow. Indeed, a person could search their whole life for meaning only to find it between the covers of a book.