Is this generation reading books less?
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I guess it depends on how you define reading - whether it is strictly limited to print media or if there are certain kinds of text that count as "reading" and others that don't. I mean, a lot of people here have been reading these forums. And if people are reading books less, no one seems to have told the publishing industry and the incredible number of books being published.
It's not that people are reading less, it's that they are thinking less. There's hardly a moment when we aren't seeking to be entertained and very few people stop to just think for a while. In fact, my brother sent me a brilliant NY Times Op-Ed about just that topic today, the Post-Idea World:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
It's not that people are reading less, it's that they are thinking less. There's hardly a moment when we aren't seeking to be entertained and very few people stop to just think for a while. In fact, my brother sent me a brilliant NY Times Op-Ed about just that topic today, the Post-Idea World:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Literacy on average is rising, yes. The current generation of young kids and students, especially here (to me) in the States? Hard to say. There seem to be more surges of popular light reading (Twilight, etc.) but on average...eh. There's always the people who enjoy reading on their own time and those who don't.
I think it's still very undervalued, though. I've always been a big book nerd, and it's been incredibly valuable to me in and out of school. Every subject involves some level of reading comprehension, use of context, communication; it's how we learn. It also improves your own writing and speaking, especially when you need to sound professional and well-informed. So all of that reading (both light and serious novels) helped me a great deal. You can make an educated guess on a lot more things, too.
I think it's still very undervalued, though. I've always been a big book nerd, and it's been incredibly valuable to me in and out of school. Every subject involves some level of reading comprehension, use of context, communication; it's how we learn. It also improves your own writing and speaking, especially when you need to sound professional and well-informed. So all of that reading (both light and serious novels) helped me a great deal. You can make an educated guess on a lot more things, too.
I work in a book store, and honestly I actually do see a lot of young kids (7-12) come in really excited to buy and read books. The dropoff point seems to be teenagers. We have a few regular teenage readers, but mostly it seems like teens only come in for the occasional Twilight purchase, and then nothing. 20 somethings aren't really representing that well either, I'm sad to admit. C'mon guys, pick it up!
I'll say what it looks like everyone else is saying - reading books, yes. Reading overall, no. The major problem for me is the cost of new books, usually about £10 for a few hours reading. That, or Oblivion for the same price, and a few hundred hours playing. For £-per-hour, it's easy to see which is more efficient. And I've almost drained the local library.
People are reading less books, that's because we have more forms of entertainment, games are a lot bigger now, internet is way bigger, with netflixs and streaming movies and shows are cheap and easy to watch now, a lot of it isn't we want to read less it's we have more other things we want to do.
I'm sort of considered among the upper end of this current generation, and I can tell you from talking with friends and acquaintances that yes, we aren't reading books as much. I mean, I still read and so do some of my friends, but many of my classmates haven't picked up a book since maybe May, when it was mandatory during school (we had class-wide projects based off of different books). Are we becoming illiterate? Maybe, but I'd wager that it's more of a no. What I'm most worried about is people's lack of correct spelling and their misunderstanding of English grammar. I sometimes help to proofread some classmate's essays during school, and they still don't understand the difference between their, there, and they're. We're seniors in High school for Christ's sakes, why can't they understand these things!
Yes and no.
The way our technology advances, we're being exposed to media (films/literature/music) so much more than was once possible.
Nowadays, we can download entire books through Kindle or whatever it's called. We can listen to books on CD. People may not be reading actual paperback books because they're reading it somewhere else.
My aunt started downloading books recently--and this is someone who used to spend as much time in libraries as possible--and now that she can read books through the use of her Kindle, she can't remember why she ever used to read books by lamplight.
But at the same time, yes, people are reading less because we have access to more alternatives like video games and movies. To each his own.
The way our technology advances, we're being exposed to media (films/literature/music) so much more than was once possible.
Nowadays, we can download entire books through Kindle or whatever it's called. We can listen to books on CD. People may not be reading actual paperback books because they're reading it somewhere else.
My aunt started downloading books recently--and this is someone who used to spend as much time in libraries as possible--and now that she can read books through the use of her Kindle, she can't remember why she ever used to read books by lamplight.
But at the same time, yes, people are reading less because we have access to more alternatives like video games and movies. To each his own.
Yes to books.
Maybe in general. I say this because people tend to skim texts. Forum posts, if they are above a paragraph, tend to get a TL;DR after it. Yeah, we get more of both but do we really take the time to read these? Even with this topic, I kinda skimmed the first few posts and just dropped down to the end.
I also think that reading comprehension is going down. With our brains being constantly bombarded with external stimuli (MP3 players, mobile devices, etc) and our attention being constantly divided, even when we read, we don't comprehend it as well as we used to.
Maybe in general. I say this because people tend to skim texts. Forum posts, if they are above a paragraph, tend to get a TL;DR after it. Yeah, we get more of both but do we really take the time to read these? Even with this topic, I kinda skimmed the first few posts and just dropped down to the end.
I also think that reading comprehension is going down. With our brains being constantly bombarded with external stimuli (MP3 players, mobile devices, etc) and our attention being constantly divided, even when we read, we don't comprehend it as well as we used to.
For me, it's because books just aren't as accessible. I live in the middle of nowhere so I have to pay to use the local library and it never had many books to begin with. So I have to buy them. They cost about $8 if I can get to a bookstore, and that's your average paperback. Then there's the fact that I never have any money. I have a stack of Star Wars novels I've been meaning to get through, but a couple of them were so boring I was put off.
People are certainly reading books less. There is more technology, which is an easier form of entertainment to use.
I think it's a real shame.
I love to exercise my imagination, to see how far the words on a page can take me. I love to use those words to build a personal picture of a place, a set of characters - an entire world. There is also great beauty in the way some writers (Dumas, Pullman) use language at certain key points in the story to paint a lucid, memorable picture. This is what draws me in.
Games are a bit restrictive in terms of this. They show you exactly what a world looks like, and there's very little room (if any) for interpretation. You see how characters move and can't add little quirks as your understanding of their personality progresses. The world stands before you, to be explored at your leisure, but not to be built by your collaberation with the writer's work.
I think it's a real shame.
Read a book!The Virgo said:
I love to exercise my imagination, to see how far the words on a page can take me. I love to use those words to build a personal picture of a place, a set of characters - an entire world. There is also great beauty in the way some writers (Dumas, Pullman) use language at certain key points in the story to paint a lucid, memorable picture. This is what draws me in.Games are a bit restrictive in terms of this. They show you exactly what a world looks like, and there's very little room (if any) for interpretation. You see how characters move and can't add little quirks as your understanding of their personality progresses. The world stands before you, to be explored at your leisure, but not to be built by your collaberation with the writer's work.
You should at least try to contribute to the discussion instead of just whining about why this thread is here. If you're not going to, then please don't post.KidGalaxy said:
Really? I could have sworn teens read more now a days. Though, the majority of teen readers are females. I think in childrens its half and half.Sariteiya said:
Teen girls buy a few vampire themed novels here and there, but really aside form that it's fairly sparse. It may be a result of E-reading, and bear in mind we have a slightly slanted demographic in my town, (it's kind of a retirement town,) but teens just aren't making up that much of our clientele compared to young kids and adults. That being said, teen book sales are very good. The thing is a lot of that is actually adult, middle aged women buying teen vampire books.Saucycardog said: