Is Writing Becoming More Important or Less?

Page from my London/Iceland journal, fall 2011.

Things have been so busy around here, between work deadlines and getting ready to launch J.'s new book (yes! at last!), that I haven't had much time to blog. But here is a question for us to ponder. The other day during a break, as we sat in our studio drinking coffee and talking about the books we're reading and the things we've been writing, J. asked me: "Do you think writing is getting more important or less so?"

I thought that was a pretty profound question, and I don't know the answer; I'm not even sure what I think. He elaborated to say that what he meant was that as communication moves so much more toward the visual, and away from reading and writing words, do writing and reading actually gain in importance or lose ground? As your exposure to computers, the internet, social media, tv, visual advertising and mass media, and short-form/sound-byte content have increased, does it make you want to read and write more, or less? Has your own capacity for taking in information one way or another increased, or decreased, or remained unchanged? And how do you feel about it?

What do you think?