March 30 – Is it Possible to Read and View Critically Anymore?

March 30, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

Do you remember when most of us were not yet on social media? Do you remember when most of the world shared content through forwarded emails? In 2008, I got so tired of people forwarding bogus and deceitful content that I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper:  “Let’s All Be Critics” it was called. I reread it recently, and it almost sounds quaint:

If we believed all the e-mails over the years, we’d be waiting for $10,000 from Bill Gates, printing $50 gift certificates from Applebee’s, and watching for other unexpected windfalls. Don’t you just want to shout, “C’mon, read critically before you forward those emails!”?

My 2008 Letter to the Editor asked people to read critically.

In a short 15 years, technology may have surpassed our ability to read and view critically.

It has become Tom Cruise deep fakes:

AI photos of Donald Trump being arrested,

and bots writing content better than a lot of American citizens can write.

These are all here now. Will they just keep getting better and harder to recognize the deceit? I wonder if good will come of the technology capabilities.

Is it possible to read and view critically anymore? What will it be like in 15 more years?

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!