The Debate
Full Video of the Debate, recorded on December 14th 2019.
by Stephane Chabas, CUD Media Specialist
Moderator
Omar Karim
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s debate where we are going to discuss if electronic media is making up more or less literate. Literacy is the ability to read and write as well as comprehend what is around us whether it be political, social, educational or general life and in other words could be defined as critical consciousness. However, we have broadened the definition of reading and writing which we will be discussing in the debate."
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Questions With:
1- Considering you are with electronic media, what is your input on slang terms being introduced into the English language?
2- Do you think reading on screen is better than reading on a paper? Explain?
3- Do you feel that reading books is no longer a priority in today’s new digital era?
Questions Against:
1. The world is changing, and it is no argument that it is steering towards a digital era, how can educate our children in the future generation?
2. What is your input on new slang terms? Should they be added to our dictionary?
3. What is your opinion on an all-electronic school?
"Let me introduce to you our debaters:"
FOR the motion
Tamanna Sajeed
1. Our stance argues that electronic media proliferation, while maybe contributing to a lowering of ignorance, acts as a catalyst for illiteracy.
2. There is ample evidence proving that electronic media makes us socially illiterate. Social literacy is developed when we engage in face-to-face communication, where most information is conveyed through non-verbal cues that make sense in the context of the situation.
3. Electronic media is causing physical deformities in our brains. According to a 2017 study, our reliance on GPS to essentially do our spatial thinking for us causes the hippocampus to shrink.
4. We cannot ignore the connection between electronic media and illiteracy when there is physical evidence showing us otherwise.
5. Electronic media has allowed us to see what we want to see. It causes our society to be more divided than ever, and we lose sight of what the common good is for humanity.
Mojoyinoluwa Oke
1. Media Ecology Theory purports that media shape the way our society is formed directly on a cultural level. In this theory, we see that society as it is at the moment is strictly whatever blessings or chaos media has made it.
2. Media simply refers to any channel used to pass across information, to which the logic of the topic bites back with the counter of how little people are forming their own opinions and dwelling on what they are told or preached to by the actors of new media.
3.In human communication, one must be able to retain information and apply that which is learned previously, without which can fall into the abyss of cognitive dissonance. This skill is referred to as functional literacy. With the prevalence of electronic media, it has hence become the case that we are unable to remember any information without the assistance of our technological devices.
4.The fact that we are dependent on technology to bolster our daily activities simply means that without the technology in the mix we will be unable to have thorough interactions.
5.To dive into critical theory, one must possess tools that allow for introspection and something near self-inspection, the simple name for that is Meta-awareness which is, in simple definition, thinking about thinking.
6.Due to media heavy use, we have hereby become victims of lost cognitive control and this in turn makes it so that we lack the mental power to inspect our society but simple go for likes and clicks.
Against the motion
Sara Labib
1. According to the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics, language is not a fixed or stable matter. This fact aids in abolishing the idea that electronic media is making us less literate considering that times are changing and so are our needs. Changes in linguistic properties, the use of acronyms, slang and abbreviations only serves this fast-paced generation’s needs.
2. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a dialect is particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group. It would make sense to consider Internet slang a dialect its own instead of an abomination. The main purpose of language is to communicate and the use of slang, acronyms and abbreviations only make the process of relaying information easier and more efficient.
3. Electronic media is a learning tool. apps that help individuals learn new languages, for instance “DuoLingo” is an infamous app used by 30 million people worldwide that allows users to learn new languages.\
4. Critical Consiousness is developed using electronic media seeing that disseminating information is made easier using electronic media where one self-aware individual could help enlighten an entire society on a certain matter. It also helps one decipher, analyze and respond to mediated messages in the right manner.
5. Electronic media now enables us to read social cues and relay tones of voice using words, which would erase the concern of “electronic media allow for error and miscommunication unlike face-to-face communication”.
6. Platforms such as twitter enhance literacy by encouraging linguistic creativity as they only allow users to make posts with 140 characters, such conciseness can be seen in other creative literary outlets such as poetry.
Abdullah Al Hadi
1. One medium of electronic media which is the internet, enhances literacy rates:
2. Electronic media can be used for educational purposes:
3. Forms of electronic media that contain E versions will improve literacy:
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4. New social media platforms can boost literacy rates