Up until relatively recently, writing has been a very individualized affair; articles and books were put through a publishing process usually with one name attached to each, plainly identifying said work with the author in question. Thus, writers, composers, and news writers were each held accountable for their work and responsible for their ideas. Reputation inevitably followed these accounts, and such would be attributed to the author at the same or similar value.
That's all changed in light of the "digital literacy" of today. With the likes of Facebook, Reddit, Wikipedia, Fanfiction.net, and yes, even 4chan, literature is becoming more and more incorporated into the digital medium of the Internet - and with that, deindividuation. With so many people contributing so often, in what sometimes almost seems to be a race of ideas, quality is shirked in light of quantity and velocity. Everyone wants his or her information a little faster, a little simpler, and a little easier to take down "on-the-go". And as more and more people fall in line with these standards, the acceptability of it all only increases, and all the snippets flowing onto the vast palette that is the Internet embody this deindividuation of literature.
Some think this is great for the literate world; compact, easy-to-swallow tidbits of information accessible by everyone, spreading knowledge more quickly and efficiently.
Others think this is nothing short of deleterious for literacy; simplifying an art once elegant and stripping it of its grandeur only serves to devalue it, making it cheap, almost meaningless.
I won't say how I feel in terms of all of this right now; all I wanted to accomplish with this post was to draw some more attention to this possibly familiar idea under a slightly different light, and maybe stir up a few meaningful thoughts. My opinions will no doubt be made clear in future musings.
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