rality, iteracy,
and the Future of Computer-Mediated
Communication


"I suspect that Ong is correct that a new orality is emerging in the Electronic Age."-Robert M. Fowler, 1994




ith the continued emergence of new forms of electronic communication, speculation has increased about the future of human interaction and the ways in which the new media will influence that interaction.

As with any new technology, wild predictions are being made and only time will tell which are accurate.

There are, as well, those who are determined to believe that the new technology can only work to the detriment and not the betterment of mankind. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the future of computer-mediated communication (CMC).

As yet we can only speculate on the ways in which the new technology will change our lives.

What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that much of what is being touted as the "information revolution" has very strong ties to past structures of communication such as
rality and literacy.

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Victorian capital graphics by Harlan Wallach, copyright 1994.
Molly Dolan