The internet is killing storytelling

Click, tweet, e-mail, twitter, skim, browse, scan, blog, text: the jargon of the digital age describes how we now read, reflecting the way that the very act of reading, and the nature of literacy itself, is changing.

via www.timesonline.co.uk

I'm not sure of this. What do you think? Is the net killing narrative?

Comments

[Cara]

I fear the internet is creating a generation of "short-attention-span" readers. Reading a long novel is an "Experience" that takes time and immersion in the whole fabric of imagination. On the web, which spawned "flash fiction," we all might as well be skimming and never getting in-depth. It's a shame, really.

[sumowriter]

Short attention span is here, and I don't the internet isn't the only culprit.
But without entering this topic that is completely something else, I am glad to see so much creativity that arouse from social services like twitter. From individuals that flash fictionize with talent (@arjunbasu, @novelsin3lines) or collective experiments (@narrathon) there are plenty of exciting new things happening with writing.

And if you get tired of short, you can always head to Nanowrimo, and we can only thank the internet for its democratization.

links:
http://www.twitter.com/arjunbasu
http://www.twitter.com/novelsin3lines
http://www.twitter.com/narrathon

[Suzanne]

I agree, the more time spent tweeting, facebooking, even blogging, the less time to sit down with a good book.....just look at the fate of newspapers.

[Jilsahnder]

I don't agree. I've read a huge number of online stories and articles greater than "a 1000 words" (Ben Macintyre's arbitrary limit to what internet users can handle). I think what the internet has done is made us less patient about finding good content, which is probably because there is so much content out there that we are now able to pick and choose (unlike in traditional newspapers, where editors decide what goes in and what doesn't). This means we're more likely to abandon stories, articles etc if they turn out not to be all that interesting. I suppose Macintyre mistakes this for a shortened attention span.

But when I find something I genuinely find interesting? I devote exactly the same kind of absorption and attention I do with traditional media.

I also find the cliche that "flash fiction" is the most popular form of writing on the internet a real joke. It really isn't, mainly because not many write it particularly well, and it almost never makes satisfying reading. Popular online writing is more frequently disseminated in online magazines and blogs.

[Jilsahnder]

Rather than on Twitter, is what I meant.

[Cruise Control]

The internet presents new challenges. I would disagree with the point that it "Kills Story Telling". I think the net forces the storyteller to be more creative.

[Essays]

"Internet Kills Story Telling", yeah agree on that. We don't have time to tell stories with our children. Time will come, our children will no longer know how to write a good essay.

[buy valtrex]

Ok what is the differnace between storytelling in the time of the greeks and now? Please site your sorce.. TY

[Ryan @ IQ test]

I couldn't agree more. The advancements of technology have made us all lazy. Sadly, myself included.

[AndyAndersen]

The Internet has been a boon to educating consumers and giving a voice to 'the little guy'. However sometimes the voice is to easy to give. Everyone and their dog has an opinion or an interest. People have learned to scan pages quickly out of necessity due to so much spin and 'fat' on the Net. When anonymity becomes obsolete on the Internet, then it will be truly useful.

[Creative Writing Topics]

There have been studies of how people read online -- they skim, rather than reading every word. I suspect these habits must carry over to offline reading. And the Internet is certainly changing the future of the publishing industry.

[Joe Scott]

...one of the comments here was posted by "buy valtrex." The internet is a big whore. You can't trust half the stuff you find, because it might be just some guy being payed to blog so people will click "buy valtrex." I agree with Jilsahnder about learning to skim for the good content.

Of course the internet changes the market. Who knows if it's changing people. Just ask yourself, what's a good story? A lot of people probably agree with your answer.

That's a bad logical fallacy, but it's no worse than jumping to the conclusion that the internet is killing story-telling.

[Levi W.]

all i do is storytelling on my blog http://thehatlist.wordpress.com/ and it seems to work well. please come check it out and leave some comments on what you think.

[Ryanedel 64]

I think that the democratization of writing and the short attention span of the internet is leading to some new and exciting explorations in writing. Unfortunately, I don't think people give quite enough time to deciding what to read - I've seen some atrocious stories with comments like "wow!" and "you're such a great writer!" and "I can't wait for the next chapter!"

The problem, I think, is that we've allowed the ease of the internet to lull us into a sense of complacency. Rather than rewarding great writing, we reward anything that's somewhat better than mediocre. And I think this is trickling upward into publishing. Because the book and magazine publishers are competing with the speed of the internet rather than simply the quality demands of paying customers, they're forced to cut back on editorial staff while lowering their standards.

On the plus side, though, great writing is still produced. It might be harder to find sometimes, but it's definitely out there.

If any of you are interested, I teach a course here at Hopkins that tries to mix the more traditional published short stories with student writing. I've built a website for my students, and the reading list strikes me as a good indication of what "modern" literature used to be: http://www.12writingworkshopsonline.com/ifp/

[Shayn Block]

I agree. These days, people spend way too much valuable time with their faces in front of a computer screen, most likely on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. They take little time to recognize actual efficient and useful creative writing online, or the actual works and such. Its all about trends in the present, and little about literature. I believe that some people should ditch the social networking for a while and take a look into the real stuff of the internet. (This also goes for not looking into books every once in a while...)

[Franklin Francis]

i totally agree with the fact that yes people do spend a lot of time staring at the socializing website like Facebook Twitter and many more and wherein there are so many other informative and creative website on world wide web from which you can gain knowledge .but they all are just ignored.

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