Week 6 – We are STILL social creatures

When reading the article “Writing in the Wild”, I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between fan-based and affinity spaces in promoting writing, growth and creativity. We are social creatures at heart, and these examples show the power of social interaction and feedback in empowering kids to become writers. The article does touch upon this a little bit, but I don’t think the point was stressed enough. It made me think that the most powerful technologies are those that facilitate social interactions and scale them on a grander level. When technology is used this way, the power is endless and the benefits are magnificent. However, when technology is insular and inherently lonely, I think it has the potential to bring out the worst in people and promotes regression of skills and interests.