Question

some social critic are of the opinion that the spread of the electronic media is destroying literacy.standardized test scores of readong and writing ability have in fact gone in recent years.are the new media the main cause?
2. If so is the slow destruction of the printed media by tge electronic media necessarily a bad thing?

Answer 1

1.

Electronic media has its own impact when literacy is concerned. It has no such absolute sole effect, either on positive or negative note. It depends on the user end how they utilize electronic media with regards to literacy and education.

With the advent of electronic media, education is delivered mainly via audio-visual presentations, and subject matter is presented using pictorial forms and lesser using texts. Also, typing has taken place of writing in many scenarios.

Thus, pupil can now easily understand the subject matter, and have more practical insights into themes/topics, than what non-electronic media can provide. It may be possible that reading and writing abilities are getting hampered, even though understanding of concepts is getting clearer than before.

However, going by the definition of literate, which means an ability to read and write, we can say that electronic media is downgrading literacy.

2.

Printed media is being gradually overtaken by electronic media, which has certain environmental benefits. It is helping to reduce dependency on paper, and saving papers ultimately means saving trees. Use of electronic media is thus helping in one way to curb down carbon emissions. Also, electronic media is fast, reliable and economical too. Hence, slow destruction of print media by electronic media is not necessarily a bad thing.