Introduction
Your past experiences with computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices represent your conscious choice to connect with a global community. For example, you may post on social media sites where you receive instant feedback from around the world in the form of reposts or likes. Through these interactions, you are empowered to influence people more than at any other point in history. In fact, you may be on the road to becoming the next big social media influencer—a person with established credentials in a certain field with access to a large audience and who, because of popularity, can influence others’ actions. With applications that instantly translate into many languages, even language has become less of a barrier to your potential audience and, thus, to your potential influence. However, even though the world may be more connected now than ever before and communication may be faster, easier, more powerful, and more widely accessible, the basics of communication have not changed.
Adapted from Michelle Bachelor Robinson’s, Maria Jerskey’s, featuring Toby Fulwiler’s “Chapter 1: The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically” of Writing Guide with Handbook, 2023, used according to creative commons CC BY 4.0.