Of PCs, readers and online creativity

The start of the popular use of personal computers (PCs) in 1977 virtually heralded a revolution in the global academia. Before the invention of the first computer in the early forties, it was thought to be equipped with amazing capabilities in solving data-related complexities. Scores of myths about computers began to be debunked with the passage of time.
The true function of this marvellous machine eventually got a formal shape as years wore on. The electronic gadget from the very onset had shown the prospects for its omnipresent place in the future human life. In the times that followed, computers emerged as an indispensable part of information and communication. At the same time, the unique technology was poised to explore dozens of mind-boggling devices in later periods. In the early nineties, four decades after computer's invention, a groundbreaking development radically transformed the technology related to information and communication. The watershed event marked allowing private use of the Internet, and lifting restrictions on its commercial running. From then on, the PC-based system has kept changing the way people evaluate the time they are in and also themselves. The use of the Internet added speed to global connectivity and man-to-man communication.
Halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, traditional letters have largely been replaced by e-mail. In the developed world, the print media has been made to make way for electronic newspapers and journals. Many fast-developing Third World countries are also turning to the electronic media for instant global reach. The buzzword in information and technology today is 'online'.
That one day online books or e-books would begin holding sway over the traditional ones was beyond the farthest corner of human thoughts. But the spectre had started haunting social scientists and psychologists since the early days of the Internet. Debates raged. Doomsayers predicted the eventual phase-out of printed books. The optimists smiled sarcastically; they cited the timeless appeal of paper books. Many others portrayed the ever-brightening and halcyon days for books that constituted the very building blocks of human enlightenment.
Keeping the 2015 scenario of reading in view, we need not be dogged by pessimism. Print-books are very much in circulation in the West, with the shelves of book shops getting filled with new publications. Many people still go to libraries, consult the catalogues, and settle down at a convenient place after collecting the book of their choice. However, the modern libraries in the advanced countries, nowadays, have large digitised or online sections. Here readers go through books on computer screen after selecting a specific website. Some might read e-books by opening CDs. Bangladesh is no exception. The electronic format has also been applied to journals and periodicals of various natures.
Globally speaking, the younger readers in droves are getting connected to the world of electronic publications. It might be quite natural to see the children of the future begin their learning onscreen. Even well after adulthood, many of them may not have the opportunity to see a 'paper book'. Books may find place in museums alongside today's handwritten texts on parchments or tablets of rocks. In the developed countries, electronic books or e-books have for some time been making fast inroads into the readers' world. But print-books are also on the scene, enduring occasional threats from electronic publications.
Like many Third World countries, Bangladesh has already stepped into the digital age. It attaches great importance to progress in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Considerably larger sections of educated people in the country's urban areas are computer-savvy. The younger generations in the big and small cities are used to spending long hours browsing. Uncannily resembling the young in the West, our youths too are increasingly becoming averse to reading. The indifference to books does not stem from their strong liking for social networking websites. Many computer whiz kids could be singled out who have never bothered about books after finishing their institutional studies. In general, the passion for reading has remarkably waned in the recent times. Except for occasionally feverish rise in the fad of devouring books by popular writers, reading is no longer a popular timeout in Bangladesh.
Amazingly, the educated younger Bengalees were once considered avid readers. So were the middle-class housewives, who used to pass their summer noon keeping themselves glued to the pages of novels by Sharatchandra or Bimal Mitra. TV serials have weaned a great number of them away from books. School children reading detective thrillers at back benches in the classroom are seen once in a blue moon these days. The educated people in the country have discovered newer pastime outlets. The number of both amateur, but habitual, and serious readers continues to decline. To speak frankly, the brisk purchase of books at the annual Bangla Academy Ekushey Granthamela is, in reality, a popular craze. These days it reaches a feverish pitch over novels by popular writers. Many of the book fair visitors hardly leaf through a book on the other days of the year.
There is something, quite interesting and surprising at that. The educated youths and students do read, and pass long hours writing missives and monologues, and also creative pieces. They have readers. They connect to their admirers online, doing the job on PCs, laptops, etc. and on the smart mobile phones, which provide Internet facilities. In short, the e-generation of Bangladesh has been overtaken by the social networking sites, like facebook. The catch is they care little for the search engines like Google or Yahoo, which could lead them to vast treasures of information. The Internet, the very root of computer connectivity, has little appeal for our youths. All this boils down to the fact that the habit of reading has fallen on bad times. Exploring the minds, taking an inquisitive look at the celebrations and crises of mankind carries little meaning for the educated youths. It is only books that can rewardingly enable them to have these experiences. Even the online publications on websites keep inviting them. Most of them do not respond. Some, mostly former 'book-lovers', visit these sites to read works by their favourite writers. But, ruefully speaking, the young generation in general is loath to nurture the habit of reading. They are more inclined to spend time chatting online than go through a piece of writing.
Amid this gloomy picture, there are things that we can take heart from. Like the developed countries, Bangladesh can boast of its generation of online authors. Of late, budding poets, novelists and story writers are found busy posting their creative works. Many of them have been able to win admiring readers as well. The readers do not hesitate to send their honest comments on the literary pieces. At present, dozens of Bangladeshi literary magazines are published online. The contributors are mostly writers who are little known in the conventional literary circles; but they are much-discussed in the online world.
We had better not lament the presumed slow death of our readers. In keeping with the newer trends in all spheres of life, the readers and writers are also emerging in a new garb, although the quality of the output remains in question.  Maybe, with further breakthroughs in online compatibility, the virtual world will see the emergence of more online-based authors.
But that does not mean the end of printed books, or their appeal. On the other hand, the online world is one with no holds barred. Everybody is free here to engage in creative activities. Unlike the paper-based publications, editors and writers enjoy complete freedom while online. Many rules and obligations do not apply here. This very feature often sullies online creativity, ensuring that paper books will be around alongside virtual books. What we ought to keep in mind is books do not belong to the genre of information and communication technology.
shihabskr@ymail.com