For a time, it appeared that telephone conversations would replace much routine written correspondence -- especially inter-office communication. Now, increasingly, email is the medium of choice for informal as well as for formal exchange of information. The change from phone to email is probably due to more and easier access to email for everyone. However, it may also be caused by the irritation of the caller frequently being put on hold and the annoyance of commonly being asked to make recordings -- leaving "voice mail" -- in which the caller stumbles through the message with a tentative, artificial tone of voice.
Whatever the cause, increased use of email should strengthen writing skills -- thoughtful practice tends to elevate skills. Moreover, efforts made to write clearly will organize and focus thinking. Better writing and thinking skills are good news indeed. Communication will surely improve.
Most email systems use rather straight-forward character- based editors. The focus is kept on the word selection and the message, and that is why the writing skills of email users will be enhanced.
The modern word processor, on the other hand, tends to use a graphics-based screen to indicate that What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG). (Never mind that the screen of a WYSIWYG word processor is never quite the same as what prints.) There may be applications for which a WYSIWYG word processor is essential -- perhaps in the worlds of advertising or publishing -- but most folks adopt WYSIWYG simply because it is the most recent (and supposed to be best) version of a word processor.
A WYSIWYG word processor invites and sometimes forces the user to focus on the appearance of a document rather than on its meaning. From the terrain of buttons and menus that occupies an increasing amount of the screen, fonts and type sizes are picked, formats are set, options are selected. There is a temptation to fool with the appearance of almost every line.
Even for those who have the willpower to avoid making frequent document changes invited by the alluring tool bars, writing in WYSIWYG is at least distracting. Writers must often peer closely at the screen to try to determine whether they have typed a comma or a period, whether they have inserted one space or two, and whether they have stupidly written one word when they intended another: perhaps "m-o-m" for "m-o-r-n" ("m" and "rn" are almost indistinguishable in some screen fonts). Obviously, since time for composition is finite, if attention is frequently given to what a message looks like, there is less time for concentration on what it says, and clarity must suffer.
Two conclusions seem inescapable -- and sensible. First, we should use and encourage email. In contrast to stumbling, vague phone messages, email tends to provide more accurate information, and it has the terrific side effect of sharpening writing and thinking skills. Second, we shouldn't be too quick to change to WYSIWYG word processing if it is not essential for our applications, and, if WYSIWYG has been adopted, we might consider returning to character-based writing. The products of technology can be good servants when they allow us to communicate better, but they are bad masters when they tempt us, or even force us, to spend time on practices that distract us from what we should be doing.
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© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
Universitat de València Press
Creada: 15/09/2000 Última Actualización: 18/06/2001