Our society is quickly losing two crucial competencies in today’s technology-enabled world. It’s two of the three ‘R’s’ – Reading and ‘Riting. We haven’t really stopped reading, we just read in an entirely different way. We read 144-character Twitter quips; or updates on Instagram and Facebook from those in our community of friends; or worse yet, clickbait headlines and excerpts that are designed to steal our attention for 30 seconds so that the social media company can deliver a dose of advertising to drive their economic engine.
Writing, on the other hand, is becoming an endangered skill because of tools like ChatGPT and similar Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that have been ‘trained’ to do the writing for us. Most of you reading this likely can’t fathom how many people are using these easy-to-access tools that can instantaneously write lengthy book reports, develop a well-structured resume, or even draft a legal document that previously required a lawyer and thousands of dollars of cost.
Is there a downside to the popularity of these ‘amazing’ technological advances? Are we allowing them to steal a lion’s share of our time and attention unconstrained? Should we be more careful about their dominance in our lives than we have been to-date?
I’ll argue the answer to all three questions is ‘yes’ and the threat to our personal growth (and health) is obvious in both reading and ‘riting.
Reading:
Does anyone remember the “three books” concept popularized by Author Timothy Ferriss in, The Four Hour Workweek? His premise is that you could read three books on any topic and be more knowledgeable than 95% of people on that topic – an expert of sorts. I ponder whether the implication is that we’ll have far fewer experts in the future with a greater reliance on machine-learning technology.
What other competencies will we lose in this ‘new world’ of technology? Plenty…history books are crucial because the past is likely the best predictor of what lies ahead – both good and perilous. Biographies can inspire and help all of us to learn the lessons of life from others (as opposed to making the same mistakes ourselves). And, reading books (as opposed to 144-character tweets or posts) develops your brain, allows you to expand your perspective, and for many, is a creativity-building escape that a Netflix series delivers mindlessly.
‘Riting:
Writing, as a hobby or as a competency, is an entirely different topic because once a young person finishes with high school or college, the total number of words the average adult spends to write something of substance (besides a birthday card note or a social media post/quip) is almost non-existent.
So why do we even care if the art of writing becomes extinct if no one is really doing it anyway? I’ll argue there are at least two key reasons:
- First, it helps you, as the writer, to clarify what you feel and believe. In my experience, until you can articulate your position in writing, you’ll struggle with a lack of clarity on any given issue.
- Second, without the gift of the written word, we are losing our ability to pass along the depth about who we are as parents and grandparents to our children and future generations. Whether in the form of letters, or blog posts, or even booklets, do you have confidence that the next generation (or two) will have a clear understanding of what you believe, what you’ve learned (that they could benefit from), and even how much you love them? Perhaps a bigger question, is it important to you?
Bear with me for a couple of small, personal challenges to all who are reading this post:
Do you read anything of substance regularly? Maybe the goal should only be one book a year on a topic that captures your imagination? Or a few chapters from the Bible each week? Whatever you choose, I’m confident it will enrich your life in ways you can’t measure.
On the writing front – maybe it’s a few journal entries a week that the next generation will cherish? Or an occasional letter or email to a few key people that you love deeply so that they know exactly how you feel and what you are experiencing. At a minimum, help them to know more about who you are and what you care about most.
What’s your perspective? I always welcome your thoughts!
A Servant's Musings 