Why so few teens are reading and what we can do to address this
The number of teenagers reading for pleasure has plummeted in the last decade. The increasing role of social media in young people’s lives has been linked to their reduced reading. Although it’s tempting to believe these two activities are mutually exclusive, evidence shows this is false; excessive social media use significantly reduces attention spans and contributes to mental health issues like depression and anxiety (not ideal for a well-read teen).
Research has shown that the lack of focus notable in today’s society is not only associated with the detrimental effect of instant media that we all consume, but also the act of allowing these media to infiltrate our daily lives. When switching from one activity to another, your brain has to reconfigure. You are not only losing the short bursts of time between reading (for example) and receiving notifications; you are losing the time it takes to refocus afterwards.
In a study at the Carnegie Mellon University, 136 students took a test, some of whom had their phones on, receiving regular messages, and some of whom did not. The study revealed that those who received messages performed 20% worse, on average. The normalization of teenagers’ constant access to mobile devices, even at school, clearly severely affects the deep focus many of them need for reading.
In today’s world, reading has become such an important aspect of our daily lives, but one that people can practice for hours daily without touching a book. Paul Tobin, writer, said that ‘We read and write incessantly, in text messages, tweets, blogs, Wikis, Facebook posts, news articles, comment threads, Reddit, Quora, email, dating apps, Yelp reviews, etc., etc… I would venture a guess that no period in human history has been so overwhelmingly dominated by the written word as the internet age… Reading is no longer a special activity reserved unto itself, but part of the minute-to-minute fabric of our lives.’ (This was an answer in a Quora forum, no less). Clearly, with most of the teens’ daily lives surrounded by reading, including at school, more and more teens do not look to a book to relax.
Especially due to the fast paced nature of all things technology, and the instant gratification of media such as short form content, many young people forget the contrasting pleasure that is reading for fun.
This means that millions of teens are missing out on reading for pleasure, developing a foundation of knowledge and perspective. Especially in a time when politicians have pointed to the decreasing importance of arts subjects as opposed to STEM ones, it is vital for young people to discover (and older people to rediscover) the value of artwork and literature.
To rekindle young people’s love of reading, we must make reading feel like a choice, not an assignment. Recently, a surge in online leisure reading presents a key opportunity to reinvigorate reading engagement and highlight arts & literature’s value in today’s demanding world.
Written by
Ines Lappin
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