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STUDY FINDS AMERICANS STILL USE WORDS
Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired - Americans' print consumption has declined since 1960 but words delivered by computer have more than made up the difference.
. . . "Reading, which was in decline due to the growth of television, tripled from 1980 to 2008, because it is the overwhelmingly preferred way to receive words on the Internet," found a University of San Diego study (.pdf) published this month by Roger E. Bohn and James E. Short of the University of San Diego.
Americans consumed 3.6 billion terabytes of information last year, averaging 11.8 hours of information consumption per day. Video and videogames constituted 55 percent of those bytes, but on average, Americans read 36 percent of the 100,500 words they consume each day, according to the San Diego study, which analyzed more than 20 data sources. The study doesn't cover writing, but a simple glance at Facebook feeds reveals that we're almost certainly writing more than we used to, as well.
Admittedly, posting "OMG best pizza ever C U l8r" to a mix of strangers, friends and acquaintances is not the same as carrying on a lengthy epistolary relationship.
. . . In addition, longer formats continue to be popular, despite increases in textual minimalism, competing sources of information and the general shrinkage of print magazines and newspapers.
. . . Meanwhile, Amazon, which seems to sell everything under the sun - including videogames, cameras and television sets - announced on Saturday that the Amazon Kindle, an eBook reader, became "the most gifted item ever in [Amazon] history" during this year's holiday season.
. . . "Reading, which was in decline due to the growth of television, tripled from 1980 to 2008, because it is the overwhelmingly preferred way to receive words on the Internet," found a University of San Diego study (.pdf) published this month by Roger E. Bohn and James E. Short of the University of San Diego.
Americans consumed 3.6 billion terabytes of information last year, averaging 11.8 hours of information consumption per day. Video and videogames constituted 55 percent of those bytes, but on average, Americans read 36 percent of the 100,500 words they consume each day, according to the San Diego study, which analyzed more than 20 data sources. The study doesn't cover writing, but a simple glance at Facebook feeds reveals that we're almost certainly writing more than we used to, as well.
Admittedly, posting "OMG best pizza ever C U l8r" to a mix of strangers, friends and acquaintances is not the same as carrying on a lengthy epistolary relationship.
. . . In addition, longer formats continue to be popular, despite increases in textual minimalism, competing sources of information and the general shrinkage of print magazines and newspapers.
. . . Meanwhile, Amazon, which seems to sell everything under the sun - including videogames, cameras and television sets - announced on Saturday that the Amazon Kindle, an eBook reader, became "the most gifted item ever in [Amazon] history" during this year's holiday season.
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