Pratik PatelMar 21

This is a great read from Aeon Essays.

What we think is a decline in literacy is a design problem

Your inability to focus isn’t a failing. It’s a design problem, and the answer isn’t getting rid of our screen time

https://aeon.co/essays/what-we-think-is-a-decline-in-literacy-is-a-design-problem

Show threadJamie Teh
@ppatel I absolutely adore this article. Thanks for posting it. It speaks to something that is very important to me and yet makes me very sad: that technology has the power to do wonderful things for humankind, but human society (particularly those with the most power) have actively chosen a path where it constrains instead of expands us.
Mar 21 at 10:02amWeb
Show threadPratik PatelMar 21
@jcsteh it just resonated with me. I read it last week and sat with it for awhile. Over my career and other work, I've had the opportunity to observe a lot of disabled people, in and out of classrooms. It saddens me that policy makers are focusing on the wrong problem.
Show threadJamie TehMar 21
@ppatel Cynically, I think some policy makers don't *want* to fix this particular problem, because that would involve actually regulating these behemoths. It's easier to throw up their hands and say, "technology was always bound to go this way." It didn't have to. It was a deliberate *choice*.
Show threadJamie TehMar 21
@ppatel Honestly, I'm so thoroughly sick of it all. The only thing that keeps me in tech is that I still think there is some good I can do. But it feels like that is slipping away day by day.
Show threadPratik PatelMar 21
@jcsteh I don't disagree. It's one of the the reasons why I officially quit the accessibility consulting business. Now I'm trying to keep my hands in accessibility in a different way. I'm hoping that I can contribute better by developing software that gives better access. That's sort of the side job though.
Show threadPratik PatelMar 21
@jcsteh Yes. Even when policy makers do want it, politicians at the top won't let them since it means that they'd lose access to the big money sources they rely on to stay where they are.
Show threadPratik PatelMar 21
@jcsteh I especially like how he tries to get a better understanding of literacy.