“Myths and Cyberbole, Trends and Tipping Points”

Summary of Reading

This week’s reading focuses on the nature of our discussions on emergent or new forms of media. Macnamara suggests that in our discourse on new kinds of media, we tend to exaggerate in the claims we make and in the viewpoints we hold. One example of this is “endism” which refers to the “all too frequent predictions that new developments will result in the end of other methods and approaches” (129).

Outside Example:

While reading the chapter, one example I thought of was how, contrary to many people’s predictions, eBooks and Kindles did not spell the end of reading paper copies of books. In fact, as seen in this article by the Guardian, eBooks have actually lost their appeal. The article describes how perceptions of Kindles have changed over the years. When the product was first released, the idea of enfolding hundreds of stories into a “tiny slip of plastic” was considered miraculous. Although the Kindle was a more convenient and compact alternative to lugging around multiple books, many felt reading electronically took away from the experience of reading. For example, you can’t turn the pages of an eBook or breathe in the scent of an old book. In addition to this, Kindles aren’t the nicest thing to look at, resembling a “clunky and unhip” “cathode ray tube TV” whereas books tend to have aesthetic covers. In light of this, books have now become celebrated and coveted items.

Connection to Reading:

The rise and fall of the eBook is an explicit example of “endism”. While we though that new forms of media such as Kindles would make the need for paperback/hardback copies of books obsolete, the opposite occurred.