Transparent mediums and hypermediacy are different methods of viewing text that our generation and future generations are and will be interacting with. While transparent media is like a book, the pages disappear as we continue to read, hypermediacy is an interactive writing space where we can see pictures, videos, and visit other web-sites or view information. Since almost everyone that I know has some type of computer, I sometimes wonder whether transparent media will eventually become obsolete--replaced by technological advancements. However, the two different medias have their own advantages and disadvantages.
In transparent media, we can turn easily revisit a page that has "disappeared"--since we just turned the page in the book and hence literally still have the text in our hands. Although, turning to previous pages becomes frustrating and time consuming because we must tediously sift through hundreds of words to find the sentence or words that we wanted to reread. Nonetheless, with hypermediacy, like computers, all of the information is right in front of us (we can now search a page to find a word, phrase, or sentence), but reading a screen all day often strains our eyes. In addition, it is often difficult to find text we have read, or videos, if we forgot where they were located; to access information, we must know where to look (online, our desktop, or in a document on our computer) and the file name of what we want. Obviously both mediums have their pros and cons, yet we still feel obligated to chose one media over another.
Are writers having a competition to see whose writing can be read easier? I do not think so. Is the question really about whether transparent media will exist in twenty years? Again, I do not think this is the question to ponder, but this inquiry may be compelling. Albeit, if we continue to think about advancements in writing, I believe that many scholars will ask: are these new technologies, and future innovations, going to completely outdate older writing methods?
I would like to know if transparent media and hypermediacy can coexist. The readers who prefer printed text and the readers who want technology to be incorporated into their learning experience should both be able to coincide. But if we ever eliminate printed texts, which I hope would only be from an extremely more effective and advantageous advancement than a computer, we must always remember where these texts have led us to today.
Your last point is very original and interesting. Most essays I read either take the side of technology or print, but you bring up the fact that they can coexist, which is nice.
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