Mobility
has given a great number of affordances to writing, especially in the modern
age. Early writing, in fact, most of writing historically, was severely limited
by a lack of mobility. This lack of mobility also limited the circulation of
written works, but that is another topic. Enhancing mobility has enhanced the
level of written work that is being produced.
Although
mobility in writing has been around since the beginning, influencing writers in
various ways, it has taken on new meanings in the digital age particularly.
Whereas in times past an author may publish a work after a long journey,
perhaps by compiling and synthesizing notes taken on the journey, or maybe
through a journal, today a writer can write, edit, and publish in real-time
while still travelling. This means that the the product the audience is receiving
is a more direct reflection of the author’s actual experience.
Additionally,
social media is almost completely reliant upon mobility. Twitter,
Snapchat, Instagram all use mobility in
unique ways to convey information to an audience. While Twitter can be used
from a desktop platform, it is typically used from a smartphone, and twitter
content often involves the daily life of the individual as he or she moves from
place to place, recording observations and musings about their day. Snapchat
also involves recording a sort of slice of life of the user, relying upon the
mobility of a phone to be able to capture via first-person whatever the user
thinks is interesting or relevant enough to be shared with an audience.
Overall, it seems that mobility has
shifted into the center stage of modern writing, shaping what will come next.
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