Reasons Why the Modern Generation Does Not Read. Research Paper

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Reasons Why the Modern Generation Does Not Read
Our generation does not read as much as the generations before us. The importance of reading has been told over and over again, but it somehow does not get to this generation. The most basic reason for reading is enjoyment. Reading one’s favorite author or a thriller suggested by a friend is a good way to relax and enjoy our free time. Moreover, books have the potential to teach different topics in ways that we enjoy. One learns more things as they read more books and reading is a good way to increase intelligence. A good read can also help boost one’s brainpower. Most importantly, books expose one to a whole different world. They make them more empathetic. It increases one’s ability to interact and relate with others. However, though the benefits of reading are out there for all to see, reading culture has been on the decline over the years. It is estimated that the number of 13-year old children reading books fell from 70% in 1984 to 53% in 2014. Similarly, the number of 17-year olds who read on a weekly basis fell from 64% to 40% in the same period. Moreover, the percentage of 17-year olds who hardly read rose threefold from 9% to 27% (Shapiro). This paper seeks to find out the reasons for the decline in reading culture and how our generation can be made to get back to books like it was in the past.
A look at the history of reading will understand the changes in reading culture over time. Though writing has existed for over 5,000 years, reading as we know it today is a relatively new thing. For several centuries, Europeans such as the Greeks read, but they did it aloud. The texts in this period were mainly meant for oral performance. The reading society had drastically changed by the 17th century. The emergence of text technologies such as the moveable types ushered in reading as we know it today; reading silently (Ha). In the past century, reading was majorly in the form of the printed word. However, as technology progressed, electronic displays gained prominence.
Technology has largely been blamed for the decline in reading culture. Quite a large percentage of the population in the current generation was born in what has come to be known as the age of technology. They have been exposed to the latest smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other computing gadgets right from infancy. They have also grown up in the era of social media and hence spend a huge amount of their time connected with these sites. As technology advances at a high pace, more and more people in this generation are becoming tech-savvy. Consequently, they invest most of their time playing video games, networking on social media, and texting on their smartphones. This robs the generation of the time that would otherwise have been spent reading. Though they keep up with the latest technology, they risk lagging in terms of knowledge due to failure to read books. Actually, it has been shown that almost half of our generation is not interested in reading books at all. They wrongly think that they can achieve the same results on the internet and through social media. Reading has survived wars and famine over the years. Technology has also introduced different types ...