Changes in how we read media
Just a few years ago, our reading was limited to the printed page. Digital publishing changed all that. People read on tablets, e-readers, laptops, desktop computers, phones and even wearable computers. Instead of carrying around a heavy backpack of textbooks, students can do all of their schoolwork on a tablet. What if you don’t understand something in your digital textbook? Just tap on a link on your gadget; a pop-up window immediately provides you with helpful information. Even better, a video might pop up to provide an explanation. As a bonus, electronic communications media allows you to change the font size to make things easier to read.
Another huge difference with digital media is that anyone can easily and inexpensively self-publish. In other words, you are able to create your own original publications: poetry on a website, an essay for a blog or even an e-book for an online publisher or bookstore. As a result, there are millions of fascinating texts to read that were never available before. A favorite of mine is a blog called ‘New Media, New Life,’ where dozens of authors write about how they use new forms of media. Our personal world is becoming a bigger place because of electronic media. Between the pleasure of using convenient new reading gadgets and the flexibility that digital text offers, people have been freed from the limits of paper.