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"A generation ago, a teen who couldn't read well could still participate pretty fully in the social conversation among peers," says Timothy Shanahan, president of the International Reading Association. 'But with so much written chatter, being able to read and write have become definite social advantages. There is simply much more pressure to know how to read than in the past when it comes to conversation, shopping, or work...'"

"Linguistic class divisions are growing in the U.S.," says [Bertram Bruce, author of Literacy in the Information Age]. "My sense is that young people show enormous potential for creativity--just look at YouTube, graffiti, new music, and so on. At the same time, society tramples that creativity for the many oppressed by poverty and racism, and for the young people who have their lives defined by consumerism and mass production." /Technology Review/