Working in the UCWbL requires me to be familiar with many types of literacy. Students come in everyday with new subjects and formats that I have never seen before. I think being adaptable to new literature is an essential skill in all areas of life, not just at my specialized tutoring job.
We are constantly presented with new forms of literacy, especially as technology develops. In fact, less than a month ago we all had to learn a new literacy. Snapchat forced a big update upon its’ users which required them to readjust how they use the app. Stories are now intermingled within conversations between people, making it next to impossible to selectively view snippets of people’s lives. But then again, would any of us know what any of this meant 20 years ago? No, mainly because we were babies. The point stands nonetheless.
Another example of this, but on the other end of the spectrum, was the short lived boom of e-readers. While many people still use them, they did not eliminate print as many feared they did. In part, this was due to the large resistance to adapt to the literacy. People were stubborn about using e-readers and essentnially eliminated the market (especially Barnes and Noble’s Nook. Their price has dropped from over 200 dollars to 50 in the past six years).
In essence, adaption makes or breaks the market.
I think it’s interesting to see over the years how we as a society choose which technologies we wish to adapt to and what factors play into that selection. I remember my eBay becoming more popular and with that PayPal. I think a lot of people adapted and accepted the technology, but I remember my grandparents and mom being very skeptical about putting banking information online. Now, all of our family uses online banking apps like PayPal, Venmo, PNC, Bank of America, and Apple Pay. Nonetheless, cash and credit cards still exist; I wonder if they will ever be replaced by new technology.