To what extent do you think digital communication tools like twitter, instagram, and others are similar to the gutenberg press in their effect on what it means to be literate?

When Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440, the process of printing was revolutionized. Due to the efficiency of the printing press, more and more books and publications could be produced and sold at a lower price. This encouraged more and more people in middle and lower classes at the time to learn how to read. Literacy used to be reserved for only the wealthy as printing books was expensive.

In more recent times, books and literature are even more accessible to everyone due to modern digital communication. Being literate is almost a requirement in today's society. As social media continues to become a more important aspect of society, being able to read and discern what is being shared is important. Literacy is common now due to advances in printing and publishing technology.

Due to this, I feel that digital communication tools have an impact on today's society. That being said, they do not have the same type of impact that the Gutenberg press did back in 1440.  

Let's use today's schools as an example.

While modern printing techniques are based off of the Gutenberg press, the idea is still the same- producing a large number of copies for a lower price. This helps bring affordable textbooks to schools. In addition to textbooks, technology is used in schools to supplement students learning to read. Both tools work together to improve the literacy of students.

In conclusion, the effects of digital communication tools on literacy are distantly similar to the effects of the Gutenberg press.  While the Gutenberg press made literacy more common, digital communication tools continue to build on the need for literacy in society.  

Before we look at the Gutenberg press, we must first find out how they made books before-hand. Books before were generally hand-written, and it took weeks to even years to produce a hand-written book (depending on how long it is). Each were essentially written with beautiful hand-writing, and were sometimes bound with gems and other expensive items. Because of the worth of these books, the prices were driven up, so that only the clergy and the richest of the people can buy them. However, the Gutenberg press was able to revolutionize this, as Gutenberg created something similar to the Chinese wood block printing: The usage of pre-made letter blocks that were arranged in desired order, smeared with ink, and paper were pressed onto the printing, allowing for rapid makings of the same pages. This drove the cost of books down, and the middle-class were able to afford them, leading to the rise of literacy rate.

On the other hand, the internet was based off of the computers, the first one being ENIAC (created for military usage). Internet was soon made public, and became extremely popular, as it was a faster way to communicate with others (through the world wide web and other systems), and a faster way of obtaining information (such as the website we are using). The effect is pretty similar. It drove down prices to share information, and was able to spread knowledge at a faster rate. Literacy rate was able to grow, (but now is affected by acronyms and such, which is not proper language). Literacy, instead of being something only the rich would have (as back in the Gutenberg age), is now something needed in today's culture. Instead of a liability, it now becomes an asset. Literacy rates in the world rose sharply, and would continue to rise as the world expands, and internet becomes truly world - wide.

The effects on literacy rates can be seen through history and current-events. While each brought about the change in it's own way, they each had one purpose: Changing how the world communicates, in a more inexpensive way.

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