What does it mean to be literate?



In the U.S., we use the term “literacy” mainly to refer to the ability to read and write functionally.  The emphasis is on interaction with the written word, which we take for granted as the cornerstone of education.  This understanding isn’t exactly wrong, but it’s probably incomplete.

​​

Interestingly, momentum may be building in the direction of a more visual and auditory literacy.  Anyone with the time, means, and interest can create and distribute audio and video very broadly across the web right now.  With greater numbers gaining access to these formats and using them to share across social networks, there’s an ever-increasing amount of “live” documentation of personal experiences.  (Sure, we’ve had TV for a while, but until recently, relatively few people could make TV.  Now, more video is uploaded to YouTube in one month than was created by the three major U.S. networks over the course of 60 years.)

The widespread ability to document live-action footage is a curiously illuminating lens through which to view changing expectations for the substance and delivery of modern storytelling.  The use of video as part of this narrative is becoming more common, and further, we’re beginning to expect the online experience to involve not only our attention, but our participation.  I would argue that these forms of storytelling are experienced in a way fundamentally different from strictly textual reading, and by extension, embody a different form of literacy than does textual literacy.

For those of us whose profession it is to understand how content is made, how it travels, and how it carries meaning, the shift toward a more participatory digital culture is as important to understand as it is to observe.

Help build a framework for understanding interaction literacy: connect with me via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn​!