The Word Still Matters

Congressman Daniel Boorstein believes that “Reader’s Digest” is corrupting people’s minds, saying that we prefer the part to the whole. While he believes this is a negative, this ultimately is good for people. Most of us wouldn’t consider reading anything once they realized how long an article is, but having the ability to read a condensed version of it while still gaining it’s knowledge is essential. Our ability to gain access to our forms of media on our phones, computers, Nooks, and iPads, is ultimately a positive. It allows us to use these articles and books at our discretion, while still be able to accomplish different tasks. It’s the possibility of having these outlets at our fingertips whenever we need them. While I will admit that having all these options on our electronic devices does make us more reliable on electronics, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Screen images have helped us in ways we couldn’t have imagined years ago. Websites have been so incredibly beneficial to the education world and beyond. It has made the learning process both more helpful and informational. Tablets have made the reading process exponentially easier. With its help, people can now read through more books and have a better understanding through extras available online. It is also better for the environment, as more books and magazines don’t need to be published, while the same amount of people, if not more, are still reading them. Ultimately, while the thought that we prefer “image to reality, the copy to the original, the part to the whole” is true, it isn’t negative. It’s good that we can get understandings of certain topics while only reading a condensed version of it. It’s also good that we can access books and magazines on our devices, since it helps the environment and allows us to get more knowledge from extra material and being able to get all the information we want on that subject. Our reliance on “the screen” is ultimately a good thing.