Writing Obsolete?

As I endeavor to improve my writing skills and move toward writing full time, I sometimes wonder if writing will soon become obsolete. Will we one day no longer have a need for written language? Will we merely need to train a few people to master written language as ancient civilizations once did with scribes? Is it possible to live without reading?

I often ponder these things and, while they may make for a good book plot, I doubt that somehow writing will become a thing of the past. In spite of computer and communication technology, writing remains a foundation of our society and culture. Reading and writing are highly desired and useful abilities. If a teenager left high school with only one skill, I imagine reading would be the one that could serve him best. Personally I read a lot of things others may not, even though they are afforded the opportunity, and it has always proved wise. I read the sample ballot—candidates and propositions included. I read my insurance policy. I read the disclaimer on commercials and other mediums. It is surprising how much you can learn by reading those things, I highly recommend it.

It would be the demise of our culture if we stopped reading. Online databases are great and all, but I image that a mere stroke of the key could erase all of that information. A power surge could ruin everything, leaving us without information. Writings from ancient cultures survive today, as do books from Greece, Rome, and China. Where will the musings of our great thinkers be in 2000 years if they were on a hard drive? Where will this post be in ten years let alone 100? Who will remember the great bloggers? Will they somehow be compared to the poets or philosophers? Not likely.

So until I am convinced other wise, I am going to continue writing, and encouraging my students to do the same.