October 16 is Dictionary Day—a perfect day to recognize the power of words. Today’s Simple Living Sunday post celebrates the written word, and why I believe it will live on in an AI-obsessed world and long after platforms like TikTok have had their day.
This post was originally published in October 2022 and updated in September 2024.
I like things written down. Then you’ve got them for good.
Margaret Mahy
Three simple pleasures and highlights
Continuing my practice of celebrating the simple things in life, here are three simple pleasures and highlights of the last week.
- My husband, daughter and I enjoyed a nice, quiet Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.
- The beautiful weather continued this week, giving us an opportunity to get out for a few hikes and enjoy the beautiful fall colours.
- Having the week off gave me time to do some reading. I finished one book and I’m halfway through a second.
This week’s simple living focus: The written word will live on
Earlier this week, I read a blog post by Olivia Lucie Blake on The Future of Blogging. Since the pandemic, I’ve seen many bloggers writing blog posts, and commenting on Twitter, about the drop in engagement on their blogs. I noticed this trend earlier this year and wrote about it in Where have all the bloggers gone?
At the end of the post, Olivia Lucie asked whether blogging will continue as it is or if it will change like other platforms. It’s a fair question.
Video didn’t kill the radio star
As I read Olivia Lucie’s post, a song from 1979 popped into my head. Video Killed the Radio Star is a song by one-hit wonder The Buggles. It laments the impact of video and technology on the music stars who couldn’t make the transition from audio to visual. Interestingly, the video for this song was the first video played on MTV when it launched a couple of years later.
It’s fascinating that, over 40 years after that song was written, we’re having similar conversations. These days, platforms like TikTok and YouTube feed our ever-shorter attention spans with tiny snippets of information that generally serve to entertain rather than inform or educate. And if generative AI can write everything from a blog post to a college assignment, what does the future hold for those of us who love to write?
But will video kill the written word?
People learn and consume information differently, and every platform has its place. TikTok is great for simple entertainment, and many of us turn to YouTube for how-to videos when trying to figure out how to do something.
Despite the popularity of video, science tells us that reading written words engages our brains differently. Studies have shown marked differences in brain development between young children who are read to compared to those who are entertained by screens. (Source: CNN) Another study, from Microsoft, reported that attention spans in all age groups have declined in the digital age. (Source: Medical Daily)
Do you ever wonder what all this instant entertainment will do to our brains over the long term? Will we lose the ability to reflect, think and form our own opinions? You might say there’s evidence this is already happening as people react to headlines and clickbait without even bothering to read.
The written word has this advantage, that it lasts and can await the time when it is allowed to take effect.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Very few videos, films and documentaries have left a lasting impression on me. On the other hand, I often find myself referring to words from a terrific book, or even a thought-provoking blog post. There’s something about the written word that causes me to pause and reflect. Video moves on quickly and doesn’t give us that opportunity.
The future is in our hands
Interestingly, after an initial dip as things opened up after the pandemic, my blog views have continued to grow steadily. There are fewer likes and comments, but the engagement that remains is sincere. I’d rather have ten readers who appreciate what I write and learn something from it, than hundreds who like and comment because they want me to return the favour on their blog.
Like Olivia Lucie, I believe the future of blogging is in our hands. History has shown that many things change and evolve in order to survive. Blogging and writing are no different. It’s up to us as writers to continue to put out authentic, useful and thought-provoking content that people want to read. If we do that, blogging and writing will live on.
I feel the written word, poetry and literature is just one of the most beautiful things that human beings do. So we have to fight for it.
Helen Mirren
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Three things to do this week
Now that you’ve read this post, and thanks for getting this far, here are three things to do this week.
Imagine life without the written word
Take a few minutes to ponder the ways in which the written word has enriched your life. Consider how different life would be without the ability to read. What would you have missed out on?
Read something
This one goes without saying. Take the time to read something. It can be anything—a book, magazine, online news article or a blog post. After you read, pause and reflect on what you’ve read.
Write something
Finally, if you’re a writer, write. Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, write anyway. It can be as simple as a letter or a handwritten message in a greeting card, or even a friendly email.
We can’t rewind we’ve gone too far. Pictures came and broke your heart. Put the blame on VCR.
Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim, Video Killed the Radio Star
In the end, video didn’t kill the radio star. The industry changed and evolved, and people now consume music on different platforms than radio, but music lives on. I believe the same will apply to the written word. There’s a reason we’re still reading words that were written thousands of years ago. The written word endures and inspires.
What do you think? Will AI and the popularity of platforms like TikTok and YouTube make the written word irrelevant? Tell me your thoughts below.
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Video has killed the written word yet, and it’s had several decades to do so. In fact, people often chose a physical book over a digital one, because having the book in your hands is part of the experience
That’s exactly how I feel. I do read digital books and find them handy when travelling, but I love the feeling of turning pages in a real book!
Gosh, I hope blogging is not dead but at the same time, I am feeling uninspired… I’m not sure if it’s me, the season, the weight of the world (yet again) or if it’s blogging…What I do know is that right now I just am in the mind of consuming words – mostly books… I am gobbling up books like they’re coated with sugar!! It’s delicious!! 🙂
It’s funny that you say that because I, too, have been reading more lately. I hope it serves as a source of inspiration for you!
What a fantastic post that highlights the power and enduring strength of the written word, even in this modern world! 🙂
Thanks Jaya. I hope college life is treating you well!
I still prefer reading and I don’t think blogging is dying.
I understand that businesses that have blogs are more successful, for example.
That’s a really good point. On a business site, a blog is a great way to engage with customers. I will read a blog post, but I very rarely watch a video or listen to a podcast. Thanks for dropping by and for being a faithful reader, Rachel.
My pleasure.
I’d like to think that that writing will live on – there is no substitute, really. I agree, a few sincere readers who care to read what you’ve written are better than thousands who may just be skimming through and “liking” without reading. Excellent food for thought!
Thanks so much for dropping by. You’re right. There is no substitute for the written word. I really believe many of these new media will come and go (we’ve already seen examples of that) but writing will live on.
I think the written word will survive, at least I hope it will. I can’t imagine life without written words. Reading has been my safe space and hobby for as long as I can remember. Life without it would be dull. This post makes me think of the book Fahrenheit 51. It describes a future where books are not only banned, but burned, and society is filled of people who no longer think or contemplate or wonder and explore life, but simply consume fast paced media. It’s scary to think of, especially in light of recent book banning.
It is scary to think of such a world. That’s why the book banning is so alarming. If we approach things with an open mind, we can learn so much from reading the words of others, even if we don’t agree with them. Thanks for dropping by!
I think that blogging/writing will continue on even as other things become more popular as I do think that it’s a medium we connect to in a very different way. I’ve noticed engagement ebb and flow but I think this is just a cycle that most things go through. Thought-provoking post!
I agree. I enjoy reading a good thought-provoking blog post and have recently rediscovered the joy of books. Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Molly.
Thanks for yet another thoughtful, thought-proking blog post! Here in the USA, I’ve been focusing my extra energy on our rather extraordinarily important mid-term elections coming up in less than a month. Some of that has involved writing very simple messages onto postcards and letters which an expanding team of us have been sending monthly and now weekly to potential voters in swing states. Apparently even one or two hand-written sentences can impact how a potential voter responds to a postcard/letter they receive in the mail… On the topic of blog readership, I haven’t written a new blog post in months, yet folks continue to find and visit my site and sample one or more of the 100 blog posts already there. Not a lot of folks, But some! I find this to be gently amazing. I remain grateful for blog visitors even though I’ve written nothing recently… On the topic of TikTok, I continue to be astounded that the news (now well-documented) that it was engineered to have the capability to access all sorts of personal information on our phones — including the keystrokes when we are using passwords if I understand correctly — has not caused everyone immediately to remove it from their phones/computers/daily lives. It appears to be an extremely clever Trojan Horse that the Chinese government/media allies have created to gather vast amounts of data about all of us. Given how the Chinese government is now surveilling and controlling more and more of its population via cell phones and other electronic technology (like the TV series Dark Mirror in real life), I am shocked that anyone continues to use TikTok… One final observation: I read an article about the US Library of Congress a while back which mentioned how they collect outdated technology (cassette players, DVD and Blue-Ray players, VHS recorders, older laptop computers, etc. etc. etc.) in order to be able to read and watch and listen to all of the stuff we have written and created in the past 100+ years. Our technology continues to advance and supposedly improve — although so many so-called improvements seem mostly to be a reason to get us to buy something new as the one we already know how to use becomes purposefully obsolete… How will all the words written on WordPress be preserved for possible future readers if/when the internet starts falling apart due to climate catastrophe and/or cyber attack? Have any of us printed out actual tangible copies of any of our blog posts? I continue to love using my local library and reading books — which (once they are printed and. shipped to the library) require no more additional fossil fuels/electricity to use and enjoy! I will end my much-too-long comment here and repeat my thanks for your blog! And I will happily remain one of your fellow bloggers who is actively engaged with what you write for us to read (and comment on!) Deep breath n. Deep breath out.
Oh Will. There is just so much to respond to here. I, too, will be watching the US mid-term elections with much interest from my too-close-for-comfort home in Canada. Sadly, we are very much affected by what happens south of the border and I am saddened to see much of the behaviour and divisiveness of US politics infiltrating our world. Many of the protests we saw against our government earlier this year were funded by extremists in the United States. A scary fact indeed.
You make a good point about our blog posts. I have all of mine in Word on my computer and backed up on the cloud. At some point, I plan to take the best of them and turn them into a book, or maybe more than one book, that I will print. Even if that book is just the legacy I leave for my daughters and no-one else ever reads those words, it will be a worthwhile exercise for me.
I have embraced my local library over the last couple of years. In fact, I just finished reading my latest library book a few minutes ago.
Thanks again for dropping by, Will. I always enjoy your perspective.
I’m relatively new to blogging and so I don’t have a very good perspective on how things may or may not be changing, but I do believe the written form will continue to be a compelling way to communicate. It will evolve and be shaped by all the other forms of communication and technology platforms available and it’s “share of attention” may vary, but it’s hard to imagine it disappearing.
I agree that the written word will evolve, and we’re already seeing that, but I can’t see it disappearing altogether either.