Society is propelled by technology or a battery. Everything is faster and at your fingertips.
Students type notes on their computers, read headlines with their noses buried in a screen, scan lessons from an online textbook or take quizzes on Canvas.
Some students whiz by on automated bikes, skateboards or scooters.
Because of the efficiency and pervasion of technology, many people argue print news, magazines and books are dying breeds. I disagree.
I may be the minority. But to me, nothing beats holding a pen to paper, holding a story or the feel and smell of flipping the pages of a book.
For me, it makes it more real.
I still buy the hard copy of a textbook and pick up The Alligator on my way to class, hearing the door of the newsstand slam behind me.
I’m a kinesthetic learner and love writing notes, placing tabs in books and seeing my byline right on a page.
This isn’t to say I never use technology. News spreads faster than ever on social media. I type up most of my assignments on my laptop. I’m guilty of spending too much time on my phone.
However, hard copies allow for sharing experiences and holding history, whereas a textbook with a one-time code locks students into one option and an article can be lost in the depths of the internet.
I think there needs to be a balance. Technology can go down and be tampered with, but paper is always there.
I don’t think it should be a competition. There is a space for both.
Journalism is a degree of tradition and innovation.
We learn to take notes on paper and stick to strict grammar rules. However, we also learn how technology expands our stories and allows news to reach more people. Photos, infographics and interactive elements like charts, audio and video make news come alive.
However, not everyone has access to internet.
Paper is universal and campus libraries work hard to preserve special and tactile literary artifacts. Libraries also digitize massive collections.
Power seems to rule the world. But, for me, paper is the foundation.
I grew up having stories read to me sitting on the laps of family. I lived for the day I got my library card and could carry out piles of books to my room. I got in trouble for hiding under my covers reading with a flashlight way past my bedtime.
Today, I also get excited by a cool ad in a magazine, a beautiful book cover and my stash of favorite notebooks, waiting for the moment I have the perfect story to draft in them.
At the same time, I appreciate a crisp photo on the front page of a website, the quick advice or news from a journalist in a series of tweets and the ease and clarity of finding information online.
In a world where everything glows, I ask people to step back and appreciate the black type on a faded white page or the feel of a pen in their hands.
Technology does not need to mean the end of tradition. Now more than ever, I feel the world needs some pull back into the tangible moments beyond a screen.
Sophie Feinberg is a UF journalism junior. Her column comes out Tuesday and Thursday.
