I read more than ever, pretty much all day every day (I'm reading here right now) but many fewer books. And lots of my family members who would never have opened a book are active on social media both reading and writing.
I have always read a lot, from a very young age. My older son was an avid reader as a kid but I really don't know of any books he has read recently. (He is about to become a teacher.) My younger son, who never had to entertain himself as a kid, did not read nearly as much and "hates" reading, to the point that he doesn't even finish assigned summer reading (despite being a responsible straight-A student in all other ways).
I am sure phones and streaming media has a lot to do with the general trend. As a kid, I remember spending a lot of time in cars or waiting rooms or whatever where there wasn't much else to do.
This mirrors my experience fairly closely. We spent a ton of time in public libraries when my daughter was growing up, and she read a bunch of stuff, including the de rigeuer Harry Potter and Rick Riordan's various series. Then at some point -- early or mid teens? -- she just kind of petered out. She still reads... stuff? ... online, including (I am given to understand) quite a lot of fanfic. But cover-to-cover books, not so much, I don't think.
I have also slowed way down. I read voraciously as a kid, and well into adulthood. Then around about the time of the pandemic, my (book) reading just fell off a cliff. I spent several years on Netflix and other streamers, and doing a fair amount of reading, but of the doomscrolling (and articles linked from doomscrolling) variety. It's just this year that I've started getting back into more consistently reading some books again. But not yet at the pace of my earlier adulthood, much less teen years. I do think vastly different media (and internet) environment has a fair amount to do with it...
Ah, this is so sad. I still say, all the time, how grateful I am that my parents raised us kids to love to read. It has always been one of my greatest pleasures in life.
I do not enjoy video. I am not going to argue that it is "worse" than reading, but I just do not care for it. Here is a short essay I wrote on this, from a few years back:
I started doing audiobooks with my daughter back when she was little because we had a long commute together. Now I read the majority of my books that way. I probably read more books that way since I can read while doing many other things (walk, dishes, doomscrolling). I still read books the old fashioned way, but I think I have less patience for it.
I feel very similar. Twitter doesn't tempt me much, especially during the day (late nights and mornings are different) but I struggle with remaining committed to one book of decent length... and I too was an avid reader in my teens and early 20s, when it was the easiest/best media...
With my kids, the impact of this modern environment has varied. My son, 20, gave up on reading (for pleasure) fairly early on (7?) but he's indeed a big YouTube/steaming fan. My daughter, 18, loves books a lot more and I have been delighted to see her get super excited about some of my recommendations (Dune, for example, when she was 14 or so). She read all through her teenage years and I hope she keeps going.
I've recently wondered about this. There is a widely held belief that reading books is somehow nobler or more academic than watching videos. But practically, video is objectively a higher throughput and more engaging way to consume information per unit time spent. As an adult, I almost exclusively "read" via audio book, which enables me to spend more time "reading" while I exercise/commute than I ever could if I had to hold a book to my face. Finally LLMs can synthesize longform information down to more digestible pieces. So I wonder is there actually any intrinsic value to routinely reading longform literature? What precisely is it that we want kids to get out of it?
You're quite correct, which is why I wasn't too upset my son wasn't a reader. As long as he engages with storytelling and uses his imagination, why belittle his focus on visual entertainment? After all, people belittled my interest in comics and genre fiction...
Still, lots of great literature is great and you can't exactly appreciate Shakespeare, Hemingway or Steinbeck unless you actually read them.
Well, audio books might be a half way house, though I personally find great/exciting books require your focus.
This claim about Shakespeare is strange. His plays weren't written to be read, and outside school, they still aren't. I haven't read a play since I finished school, though I might eventually get around to the GB Shaw I inherited from my grandfather.
I'm not even sure about Steinbeck. I remember the film version of Grapes of Wrath better than the book. Not a big fan of Hemingway's prose style, but I agree that you need to read him to appreciate it.
I've definitely noticed myself reading books (well, fiction) a lot less since smartphones became a popular thing. Even if the book is on my phone, I struggle to open it and read because of the aforementioned doomscrolling. Contrast with my secondary school days when I had a book under my desk while the teachers are teaching, and my university/gradskul days when I doomscroll instead.
I read more than ever, pretty much all day every day (I'm reading here right now) but many fewer books. And lots of my family members who would never have opened a book are active on social media both reading and writing.
I have always read a lot, from a very young age. My older son was an avid reader as a kid but I really don't know of any books he has read recently. (He is about to become a teacher.) My younger son, who never had to entertain himself as a kid, did not read nearly as much and "hates" reading, to the point that he doesn't even finish assigned summer reading (despite being a responsible straight-A student in all other ways).
I am sure phones and streaming media has a lot to do with the general trend. As a kid, I remember spending a lot of time in cars or waiting rooms or whatever where there wasn't much else to do.
This mirrors my experience fairly closely. We spent a ton of time in public libraries when my daughter was growing up, and she read a bunch of stuff, including the de rigeuer Harry Potter and Rick Riordan's various series. Then at some point -- early or mid teens? -- she just kind of petered out. She still reads... stuff? ... online, including (I am given to understand) quite a lot of fanfic. But cover-to-cover books, not so much, I don't think.
I have also slowed way down. I read voraciously as a kid, and well into adulthood. Then around about the time of the pandemic, my (book) reading just fell off a cliff. I spent several years on Netflix and other streamers, and doing a fair amount of reading, but of the doomscrolling (and articles linked from doomscrolling) variety. It's just this year that I've started getting back into more consistently reading some books again. But not yet at the pace of my earlier adulthood, much less teen years. I do think vastly different media (and internet) environment has a fair amount to do with it...
Ah, this is so sad. I still say, all the time, how grateful I am that my parents raised us kids to love to read. It has always been one of my greatest pleasures in life.
I do not enjoy video. I am not going to argue that it is "worse" than reading, but I just do not care for it. Here is a short essay I wrote on this, from a few years back:
https://bjkeefe.blogspot.com/2018/10/i-pretty-much-never-watch-videos.html
I started doing audiobooks with my daughter back when she was little because we had a long commute together. Now I read the majority of my books that way. I probably read more books that way since I can read while doing many other things (walk, dishes, doomscrolling). I still read books the old fashioned way, but I think I have less patience for it.
I feel very similar. Twitter doesn't tempt me much, especially during the day (late nights and mornings are different) but I struggle with remaining committed to one book of decent length... and I too was an avid reader in my teens and early 20s, when it was the easiest/best media...
With my kids, the impact of this modern environment has varied. My son, 20, gave up on reading (for pleasure) fairly early on (7?) but he's indeed a big YouTube/steaming fan. My daughter, 18, loves books a lot more and I have been delighted to see her get super excited about some of my recommendations (Dune, for example, when she was 14 or so). She read all through her teenage years and I hope she keeps going.
I've recently wondered about this. There is a widely held belief that reading books is somehow nobler or more academic than watching videos. But practically, video is objectively a higher throughput and more engaging way to consume information per unit time spent. As an adult, I almost exclusively "read" via audio book, which enables me to spend more time "reading" while I exercise/commute than I ever could if I had to hold a book to my face. Finally LLMs can synthesize longform information down to more digestible pieces. So I wonder is there actually any intrinsic value to routinely reading longform literature? What precisely is it that we want kids to get out of it?
You're quite correct, which is why I wasn't too upset my son wasn't a reader. As long as he engages with storytelling and uses his imagination, why belittle his focus on visual entertainment? After all, people belittled my interest in comics and genre fiction...
Still, lots of great literature is great and you can't exactly appreciate Shakespeare, Hemingway or Steinbeck unless you actually read them.
Well, audio books might be a half way house, though I personally find great/exciting books require your focus.
This claim about Shakespeare is strange. His plays weren't written to be read, and outside school, they still aren't. I haven't read a play since I finished school, though I might eventually get around to the GB Shaw I inherited from my grandfather.
I'm not even sure about Steinbeck. I remember the film version of Grapes of Wrath better than the book. Not a big fan of Hemingway's prose style, but I agree that you need to read him to appreciate it.
I've definitely noticed myself reading books (well, fiction) a lot less since smartphones became a popular thing. Even if the book is on my phone, I struggle to open it and read because of the aforementioned doomscrolling. Contrast with my secondary school days when I had a book under my desk while the teachers are teaching, and my university/gradskul days when I doomscroll instead.