The Internet and
Its Effect on
Literature
By Gage Wheeler
Introduction
• In this
presentation we
will discover how
the Internet has
affected us as a
culture and how
that in turn
affected literature.
Introduction
• Remember that
some questions
will cover ideas
not explicitly
mentioned in the
lesson, so think
critically about
the covered
material and have
fun.
Home
1. The Internet
2. Web Based
Literature
3. MS Paint
Adventures
Quiz
References
F o r Te a c h e r s
Teacher’s Section
• Overview: This Powerpoint will
discuss how the internet has
affected and formed various
forms of literature based on it’s
affect on us as a society.
Teacher’s Section
• Objective: Students, given an interactive
PowerPoint presentation, will be able to view
a form of literature or storytelling and
accurately be able to identify how the internet
affected the methodology or purpose of it.
• Objective: Students, given an interactive
PowerPoint Presentation, will understand and
identify ways that the internet has affected us
as a culture in the way we create and perceive
art/literature.
The Internet
The Internet
• The Internet was
primarily designed as
a means to share
data between
isolated computing
machines almost
instantaneously.
The Internet
• Currently, the Internet
has since become the
primary source of
entertainment,
communication, and
information for a
massive amount of
people.
How the Internet has Changed Us
How the Internet has Changed Us
• One thing the
internet has done is
perpetuate a need
for instant
gratification, the
need to have the
benefits of
something without
having to wait.
How the Internet has Changed Us
• Another way the
internet has
affected us is
changing how
people view social
interaction.
How the Internet has Changed Us
• With the advent of IM,
Social Media Websites,
and other forms of
instantaneous
communication, many
peoples’ minds have
adapted switching focus
more often, leading to
shorter attention spans in
general.
How the Internet has Changed Us
• With their newfound
abilities in being
distracted, youth
turn less and less
towards time
consuming epic
novels and more
towards brief blurbs
and videos.
How the Internet has Changed Us
• There are many who try to
retain the mecca of epic
literature, yet still the
slant is pandering towards
shorter, more in-your-face
forms of media to grasp
one’s attention before it
shifts to the myriad of
other possibilities.
How the Internet has Changed Us
• -OPTIONAL– Click the link below to view a video describing
how the advertising agencies have reacted to
shrinking attention spans and the internet.
Advertising Strategies
Advertising Strategies
Do you Remember?
• The Internet has become many peoples’
primary source of _____________,
____________, and _______________.
• IM, Social Media Websites, and other forms of
instantaneous communication have
shortened peoples’ ___________ _______.
Do you Remember?
• The Internet has become many peoples’
primary source of entertainment,
communication, and information.
• IM, Social Media Websites, and other forms of
instantaneous communication have
shortened peoples’ Attention Spans.
*If you had any issues with this
review, I would recommend viewing
this section another time so that
you will be prepared for the test at
the end.
Web Based Literature
Web Based Literature
• Web based literature
comes in many
shapes and sizes. It
ranges from web
comics, personal
blogs, online
journalism, and fullon books.
Web Based Literature
• Ever since the
Internet has come
out, more an more
people rely on the
internet for their
news as opposed to
newspapers.
Web Based Literature
• In accordance with
this most
publications are
diverting their
resources to grow
more in the web
department.
Web Based Literature
• In a lot of cases, due
to the immediate
nature of the internet,
articles can be put out
almost immediately
after the news
happens and tend to
much shorter than
their newspaper
variants.
Web Based Literature
• This allows for an
almost constant
stream of
information
available to the
public with very
little down time.
Web Based Literature
• Another
development due
to the internet is a
resurgence in
unpublished
writing in forms of
blogs and books
posted on the
internet.
Web Based Literature
• The main difference
between blogs and
unpublished works
from the past is how
easy it is to get your
work out there in the
public eye for people
to see.
Web Based Literature
• The internet has
also saw rise to
something called
Fan-Fiction, short
stories or full on
books written by
fans of a particular
canon.
Web Based Literature
• While many works of
fan-fiction are obvious
in their unprofessional
nature, some are fully
fleshed out stories
with depth and
meaning made
available for free on
the internet.
Web Based Literature
• For many people, the
ease of putting writing
out on the internet has
inspired them to write,
even if they never felt
like they could before,
tapping a great source
of creative energy.
Do you Remember?
• With the advent of the internet many forms of
writing have changed or developed. Many
online journalism sources have adapted to
writing ________ articles to compete. The
ease of putting your work online has caused
many to write _______ or ________ and has
tapped into people’s innate ________.
Do you Remember?
• With the advent of the internet many forms of
writing have changed or developed. Many
online journalism sources have adapted to
writing Shorter articles to compete. The
ease of putting your work online has caused
many to write blogs or stories and has
tapped into people’s innate creativity.
MS Paint Adventures
MS Paint Adventures
• Homestuck is a
webcomic on
MS Paint
Adventures
written by
Andrew Hussie,
and thousands
of other people.
MS Paint Adventures
• Since its creation on
April 13th, 2009,
Homestuck has
become so popular it
was able to raise 2.5
million dollars over
the course of a
month just to make a
game about it.
MS Paint Adventures
• The reason it’s popular?
It applies to it’s audience.
• Homestuck is a piece of
literature written on
the internet, by the
internet, and for the
internet.
MS Paint Adventures
• In the early stages of
Homestuck, every
page written was in
direct result of a
reader “commands,”
much like an old
school text parser
game.
MS Paint Adventures
• So immediately the
readers feel a
connection with the
story as they
themselves were
directing it’s path,
invoking a sense of
empowerment.
MS Paint Adventures
• The method for dialog
between character
was done entirely
through chat logs over
the internet, with the
characters having
never met in real life.
MS Paint Adventures
• Much of the youth
today could easily
connect with these
concepts as many
have as many friends
solely through the
internet as they do in
real life
MS Paint Adventures
• Andrew Hussie brought
together so many facets
of the internet under
one work of literature
that's over 1,000,000
words long, in a way
that connects personally
to most if not all of the
audience in some way.
MS Paint Adventures
• He ended up writing about up diverse group of
people from all walks of life, collaborating and
identifying who they are though interacting
with other on the internet.
MS Paint Adventures
• This, in turn brought
together whole
groups of people,
together in their
love for this series.
The series about
what it itself has
brought people
about to do.
MS Paint Adventures
• Homestuck, as a work
of literature, effectively
encompasses the
zeitgeist of an entire
generation of people
raised on the internet.
MS Paint Adventures
• The following slide
contains a video
published by PBS
describing
Homestuck as the
Ulysses of the
internet.
MS Paint Adventures
-PBS on Homestuck compared to Ulysses
MS Paint Adventures
• The link on the right
leads to an interview of
Andrew Hussie done by
Brian Lee O’Malley, the
maker of Scott Pilgrim.
It’s a very interesting
read and comes highly
recommended.
Homestuck Interview
Do You Remember?
• Homestuck is a webcomic that gave readers a
sense of ____________ by allowing for their
input into the story. However, the story was
not only shaped by people on the internet,
but was about them, outlining a generation
that __________ who they are through the
internet. Homestuck could be described as the
____________ of our generation.
Do You Remember?
• Homestuck is a webcomic that gave readers a
sense of empowerment by allowing for their
input into the story. However, the story was
not only shaped by people on the internet,
but was about them, outlining a generation
that identifies who they are through the
internet. Homestuck could be described as the
(Zeitgeist or Ulysses) of our generation.
*If you had any issues with this review, I would
recommend viewing this section another time so
that you will be prepared for the test at the end.
Quiz
• Time for a Quiz.
• If you were able to complete all of the Do You
Remember portions, you should have an
adequate basis of information to answer these
questions.
• Remember that some will be based on your
ability to reason and build off the knowledge
that you have, and will cover information not
explicitly mentioned in the lesson.
Question 1
Name two ways the Internet has affected people
in our society today?
1. Lower IQs, Shorter Attention Spans
2. Shorter attention Spans, Need for instant
gratification
3. Stronger sense of community, better hygiene
4. Stronger Friendships, Greater need for
literature
Sorry
• Sorry that was an incorrect answer.
Remember that the internet provides means
of accessing almost anything we want
instantaneously, and this has affected our
expectations as a culture.
Correct!
• You can now move on to the next question.
Question 2
How has the internet affected the writing
industry?
A. Provided competition through free online
alternatives and geared people away from reading
long novels by providing immediate access to
entertainment.
B. Motivated many writers to stop writing due to their
shorter attention spans.
C. Made most people less interested in the outside
world and less likely to read about things in it.
D. Made an easier point of entry to get into the writing
industry by getting your work out there.
Sorry
• Sorry that was an incorrect answer.
Remember that the internet provided easy
ways for people to express their creativity
through writing on the internet and gave be
access to all of these for free.
Correct!
• Both answers A and D were correct and
acceptable for that question. Good Job.
Question 3
Homestuck is popular with many for what
reasons?
A. It gave people a place to enjoy the multitude of
literatures available on the internet.
B. It gave a witty view on the state of epic novels in
today’s society.
C. It brought together many ideals and cultures on the
internet by appealing to each and every one
personally.
D. It highlighted the issues with shortening attention
spans by making a satire of life on the internet.
Sorry
• Sorry that was an incorrect answer.
Remember that the Homestuck was about 4
kids living in different parts of the world who’s
only interactions have been over the internet.
Compare this to how kids are using the
internet today.
Congratulations!
• You have successfully completed the quiz for
this presentation. Feel free to review any of
the sections as you please. The presentation is
now over and you may exit the program after
you have showed the teacher this slide.
References
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http://ig.bestcommunicationsdegrees.com/internet-share.png
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Vmb3JhLmFOTi5qcGcKcAl0aHVtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/35bfbcf
6/feb/youtube-for-android-lets-you-watch-videos-mostly-offline•
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