There are both advantages and disadvantages that come with the joining of micro text message groups. One of the advantages is reestablishing connections with old acquaintances with whom one may have long lost contact, while one of the disadvantages is the amount of time eaten up reading micro text messages, which are difficult to resist.
Since I joined several micro message groups, whose messages you've got to go through once in a while, I've felt the relentless passing of time, and I've made up my mind that I will spend as little time as possible reading them, skipping most of them.
Veteran Chinese writer Wang Meng recently said something to the effect that one of the saddest things about information technology is that micro text messages have considerably reduced people's time for reading and therefore their capability for independent thought.
On the subways, most youngsters bury themselves in their smartphones and very few read books or magazines.
Of course, there is the possibility that some are using their smartphones to read a book. But I doubt it. I believe that most of them are updating themselves with whatever has been forwarded to their WeChat, or Weixin accounts, as Tencent's popular app is known in China, or else they are sending what they have downloaded online to their friends.
In fact, there are fewer people reading on the subway in China today than there were reading on the tube in London when I was there in 1995. I don't know whether there are still as many commuters reading on the tube in London, and many no doubt do it on their smartphones rather than reading the physical books, but it is still likely to be more than the number of people reading books, whether paper or electronic, on Beijing's subway.
This is simply because the majority of Chinese people have not developed the habit of reading books, despite the fact that the number of institutions of higher learning and the number of students on campus have increased manyfold over the past three decades.
That may explain why 115 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference jointly proposed the making of a law to promote reading among citizens in 2013.
The transmission of information via electronic means, such as micro blogs, text messages and micro text messages, have made it even more unlikely people will develop the habit of reading books and make them part of their lives.
But would people have developed the habit of reading even if smartphones and all the modern information transmission means were not available? That remains a question. Undoubtedly, spending years on campus does not necessarily mean a person will love books. There is a tendency for students to be pragmatic and more concerned with what kind of a job they will hopefully get after graduation rather than becoming obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge in a particular field.
Wang's concerns do seem justified, as more people seem immersed in their screens. But I do not think this is a bad thing per se. My argument is such behavior can actually help people, as the micro text messages do include some that can help people gain a better understanding of a particular event or life in general.
However, for those to whom reading books is already a way of life, the question is whether he or she has the self-restraint not to become addicted to this from of communication.
I try to make it a rule that going through micro text messages is just a short break from my reading. I might sometimes send a picture or short message online, but never so many that it becomes a major part of my life.
There is indeed some useful information or some very interesting topics being discussed in the Weixin groups and by reading through some of them I can learn something new. But while micro text messages can be an important source of information and knowledge for those who have never developed the habit of reading books, I would say micro text messages can never replace reading, which can be much more thought provoking.
However, another advantage of these modern information transmission means is they have considerably expanded the channel of communication in terms of the number of people getting involved in a conversation or discussion to a degree unimaginable in the past.
Source: Chinadaily by Zhu Yuan
