Gutenberg’s printing press transformed the world. The surge in literacy and the democratization of knowledge helped ignite the Enlightenment. 500 years later the internet is initiating a new transformation. Zuckerberg claims his digital networks have connected billions and made information more accessible than ever before. But critics claim that beneath this triumph of access lies a crisis of thought. Reading is in freefall: fewer young people enjoy reading today than at any point in the past twenty years, and OECD data show literacy stagnating across the developed world. Some argue we are witnessing a reversal of the Enlightenment itself with shorter attention spans and less ability to handle complex ideas.
If the literate mind shaped the modern world, what kind of world will the post-literate mind create? Are the rise of digital media and the decline of literacy dangerous trends that threaten our politics, culture, and thought itself? Or should we celebrate the internet as a new and radical extension of Gutenberg's dream of democratizing the production and distribution of knowledge?
