My late father had an education up to postgraduate level and was a teacher. The institutional education that my late mother received did not reach that level.
But, she was ahead of him in using a mobile phone, which, after she had passed away, my father inherited. They used it to speak with their children who are in various locations in Bangladesh and beyond.
My parents never used computers/laptops and smartphones for educational purposes, and their non-familiarity with information technologies did not contradict their recognition as people of letters.
Both were bookworms, read print materials and wrote using pen and paper. In that sense, modern information technology played little role in their educational practices.
However, the definition of an educated person has now radically changed. It includes not only familiarity with words but also with word processors. Academic activities largely depend on various degrees of awareness of information sources and information technology.
It is now almost impossible for a person to enter the realm of education or to carry out their academic work without technical skills. Having been running online classes for a few semesters, we academics now know more fully that our dependence on media technology is not going away any time soon.
I first used email in 1997 as a student of the University of Dhaka. Gradually, I started exploring the Internet in a variety of ways — especially as an educational/informational resource.
I began experiencing a shift from reading print to electronic texts, and from holding books in my hands or on my lap to using the devices on which electronic texts are read.
Not long ago, shelves full of books were a common scene in the house and office of university academics and other educated people. A significant amount of time was invested in dusting and wiping them clean. That culture is also changing.
Now we store books and other reading materials in palmtop, laptop and desktop computers. In addition to storing and distributing information, we also use these implements for communicating virtually as well as for writing and editing academic documents with remarkable ease.
Our career is dependent on these modern technologies, and our educational and intellectual infrastructures have gone digital to meet novel consumer demands and to reach large-scale audiences.
We have now at our disposal tools for the efficient production and transmission of information and knowledge. These exciting new tools are having a major impact on our personal and professional lives as well as on our educational practices — both at individual and institutional levels.
But, on a personal level, is technology helping academics thrive or holding them back? Is it a boon or a bane for them?
In terms of scholarship and intellectual contributions, the feet of many academics have been on the accelerator since they were first exposed to media technology.
However, this may not be the case with many other academics who take pleasure in using computers and smartphones mainly for socialisation and leisure.
If technology causes them to switch to the reverse gear in terms of academic productivity, perhaps, that is a reflection of the purposes for which they use various IT devices. In other words, irresponsible usage of the Internet and IT devices will yield more bane than boon for them.
To put it bluntly, while exposure to digital technologies has created opportunities for academics, it is also fraught with pitfalls and dangers. The vast possibilities of technology-supported interaction often confuse and distract many unwary academics from their primary roles of teaching, research and knowledge production.
They get carried away with the Internet deluge without much control. When they are online, they feel time flies as they spend hours daily on the Internet for non-academic reasons.
Often lost in WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter discussions, they stray from the pursuit of research and scholarship. Conversely, the slimy and sleazy ones use the vast resources of the Internet to cut and paste materials (words and/or ideas) and insert them in their own writings without acknowledging the sources.
Thus, responsible usage of IT devices and honesty and integrity are very important when using them for academic purposes. In today's world of infosphere and technosphere, attaining high scholarly achievements is not necessarily dependent on the locations of academics.
What is most needed now is sincerity and responsible usage of digital technologies.
The writer is with IIUM's Department of English Language and Literature