The traditional ways of reading and writing, and the impact of computers upon them, are examined in Sven Birkerts' essay, "Into the Electronic Millennium." Birkerts begins the essay by telling a story about a professor who sells all his books so that he can forget about the past and focus on the future. This story is a bit extreme; it is ludicrous to think that one must get rid of all his or her books because a new means of communication has become mainstream. For example, the means of oral storytelling still exist even though the written page has taken precedence. Various means of reading, writing, and communicating can exist at the same time without eradicating one, and without suffering all the consequences that Birkerts fears.

I agree that this new age, the age of computers and technology, cell phones, satellites, e-mail, etc., has come so quickly that it is difficult to see how fast the changes really are happening. This is what Birkerts means by "living through a period of overlap." His concern is that books will become antiques, primarily found only in museums and libraries, and only looked at or read out of curiosity or just for "the experience." The whole act of reading a book will become a pastime. This means that computers and other electronics will be the main provider for reading, writing, learning, and interacting activities.

Unlike Birkerts, I do not believe that books will be found only in museums or suffer in any major way because of computers. There is no way that I would get rid of my books, because I enjoy reading too much. Nothing beats reading a great story to a child, or curling up with a page-turning novel. I realize that electronic technology will serve as a main provider for learning, but I don't feel that it will eradicate books altogether as Birkerts suggests.

Another fear of Birkerts is that visual elements will take over conceptual and cognitive ones. This is a possibility; however the same thing can occur with books. Those who don't enjoy reading, but who like to look at pictures, will find the graphic design elements of computers appealing. So much information will be accessible to the public that it is almost silly to think that cognitive and interpretive skills will disappear. Perhaps more people will begin to write because they know they can put their work on their computers by use of the Internet, where others will actually see what they have to offer. The range for readers will expand along with the possibilities for writers.

Birkerts further fears that privacy for individuals will be demolished; personally, I agree that this is a definite threat. I don't want just anybody to know details of my private life, where I live, and what I do in my spare time. Anyone can find information on another person, even if that person wants to maintain his or her own privacy. However, it seems as if it impossible to protects these rights of privacy because of the easy access of information through use of the Internet.

Other areas that Birkerts says will suffer include language and history. He fears that language will become simplified and deteriorate in everyday use, and that history and literature will become distorted in a need to be brief and attention-getting. I agree that, on the Internet, especially with Email, language has become more simplified. People try to get their points across in the fewest amount of words possible. Structure and spelling become of little importance. My fears concerning history and literature are that important facts will be lost in transition in a need to be interesting and concise. I do not believe a sense of time will be lost; people will not suddenly forget what they knew from the past about time and events.

On the whole, I think that Birkerts' vision is a bit extreme. We should not fear what the future holds concerning technology, as long as we hold onto what is valuable to us as a society. I think the benefits of computers are reasons enough to be excited about other possibilities. Only two years ago, I had no idea how to use a computer for other purposes besides word-processing. Now I am Emailing, surfing the Internet, downloading tons of information daily, and learning how to set up my own webpage. This new technology is very exciting and offers wonderful benefits, especially in the area of career opportunities and long-distance communications.

I don't know how long it will take computers to replace traditional print, or if that is even a logical inevitability. I do believe that, if it happens, printed texts will make their comeback generations later. Our great-grandchildren will wonder what happened to books and why they disappeared; they will go back and rediscover the most valuable and precious things that we know and often take for granted.