It is interesting to see the reactions, but it just shows the change in how information is saved, disseminated and consumed, from analog to digital medium.
I am more worried about how many encyclopedias have closed in the last years. We are moving to a world where Wikipedia is the de facto encyclopedia. This have evolved faster than the concentration of media ownership,[1] and it is dangerous in my opinion. Furthermore, references are links to published works, and who decides what is published or not? The big media and publishing companies.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_of_media_ownership
2015-07-14 22:22 GMT+02:00 Renata St renatawiki@gmail.com:
Hi.
So I saw this YouTube video yesterday about kids reacting to printed encyclopedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuM&noredirect=1
It made me sad. And very fearful of the future of Wikipedia.
These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. These kids will never know the frustration when you tried looking something up in those dusty volumes only to find minimal information ("stub") or, worse yet, nothing on the topic. And the nagging feeling it left you with because your curiosity was not satisfied and you thirsted for more, but there was nothing else! And so when Wikipedia came around it was this wondrous thing where information was seemingly limitless and endless. And it was expanding at dizzying speeds. And you could add more! It was the answer to my childhood fantasy of having the limitless encyclopedia that answered every questions. And it filed my heart with joy and satisfaction not unlike the joy of a child in candy story (yes, I am a geek).
Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. They will not have the same love that is required to edit Wikipedia and write quality articles. And it makes me sad.
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