Cole, the man, the legend.

Cole Moffitt Interview Article

            Cole Moffitt is a young student at Front Range Community College who like most people in America today typically only writes in text messages, short emails or for assignments in class.  These writing styles are brought on by a culture of instant communication and gratification which has led many to perceive a dumbing down of future generations.

            Cole’s writing began in high school when he took an English class in which peer work shopping was an integral part. This class provided him with a wide variety of skills as well as a method for getting his writings checked for various errors.  Like most writers having someone review your work can be a hurdle because psychologically you work is perfect for you when there could be some serious errors. In a climate of spell check and autocorrect in social media it is easy to see how one could become sucked into his or her own work while ignoring outside influences and critiques.  

            The culture of social media in America today is reflected in Cole with his familiarization of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  These forms of instant communications have exceeded if not replaced the use of letters, emails, and regular phone calls.  This societal switch to instant gratification and communication has caused millions of young Americans to become less adept in composing research papers, articles, and professional emails.  A culture of text messaging and emoticons by young adults is a symptom or progression of American culture and not a reflection on individuals who operate in such a manner.

            Instant gratification and the prevalence of smart devices capable of connecting the user to an immense array of knowledge and research has led to the decline of libraries and hard covered articles.  A decline library membership and knowledge is directly correlated to the rise of social media, Wikipedia and online documents.  Though this has sped up research and therefore the amount of knowledge one has access to, it has also led to people to become solely reliant on such sources which cannot be independently verified.

            All of these hurdles that are in front of Cole can be surmounted as long as he realizes and confronts his perceived shortcomings.  One of the first steps in overcoming these obstacles is take a course such as English Composition, in which every paper and writing that you produce is read and scrutinized allowing an individual to get over the nervousness of having your work become public.  Pursuing knowledge and information in libraries, research papers and peer reviewed journals is slowly becoming lost but hopefully through this class, Cole and millions of young adults like him, will begin the difficult transition back to working hard to understand and truly comprehend the information put in front of them.

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