For many years I have wrestled with the ever-increasing speed at which the internet and its associated technologies have pervaded almost every corner of life, weaving into the fabric of normality with disturbing momentum. Although a child of the late 90’s and to many an undoubtedly fitting representative of the Millennial conglomerate, I have always found myself naturally drawn away from the cerulean lights of an LCD, CRT or OLED. Early years were invariably occupied with stories from the collection of novels shelved around the house, with the possibility of a feature length film reserved to something of a special occasion.

It was only once I hit double figures that I begin to renounce my literary upbringing and turn to technology. Inevitably I became enamoured with the world of gadgets, games and endless entertainment that became available to me. It is only now that I have begun to notice that my love for certain technologies has been replaced. Replaced by necessity. Much of the joy that was once there has been supplanted by the simple fact that my daily life, internally and externally, relies so heavily on a phone, laptop, tablet or Television. Bizarrely though, just as I found that I relied upon technology to make my life easier, I found that it was doing quite the opposite, both for myself and, it seems, the world.

Because of this, now more than ever I find myself at odds with the modern world. The speed of progression has left me disproportionately aged; out of touch and unaware as normality shifts with every ‘new’ creation, discovery and improvement. Reflecting on my position I find that mine is one almost entirely unique to my generation - on the periphery of Generation Z and the Instagram Generation. As such, I find myself both outsider and insider, both participant and spectator, leaving both a sense of adoration for the internet and a longing for the childhood bliss of an abundance of books and a lack of social media. I am neither a technophobe nor technophile – I am simply an avid Reader looking to reconcile the benefits of technology with its serious threats to both publishing and to life as a whole that it carries with it. My time as a Publishing student has given me an educated, academic awareness of these issues and has developed my awareness of the disturbing potential of this shift from literacy to digitality. It is here, on this blog, that I intend to explore and reflect on the Digital Age, sharing my thoughts on what this ever-changing landscape might mean for the publishing world and for the world in its entirety.