As a college student, or any student for that matter you gain a certain amount of insight into the lives of your peers through interaction.It is with this idea in mind that I will boldly say that my generation, doesn’t read.
LIAR, YOU’RE IN COLLEGE! PEOPLE HAVE TO READ!
Let me tell you something, they don’t.
A couple of years ago, a girlfriend and I went to visit this guy Brian that she had gone to high school with who was now attending the University of Santa Barbara. Brian like myself at the time, was majoring in Business. Anyway, we spent the weekend exploring Isla Vista and the school’s campus and during a conversation over the course of the weekend, Brian mentioned to me that he never had purchased any books for his classes at UCSB.
“How could that be?” I thought. At that point in my college career I had spent thousands of dollars on books and countless hours reading them, taking notes from them, and studying their content for exams.
Brian explained to me that he religiously attended all of his classes, and that by paying attention,taking good notes, and doing online research he was able to pass all of his classes with high grades.
Brian graduated a year ago with a BA in Business.
Now, the end of this story is not typical for most students who decide to skip the books and required readings for their classes.
My point is this, most people my age don’t read unless it is out of necessity.
I can’t really say why exactly people don’t read, but my theory is that it has something to do with the internet.
In generations past when people needed something to help occupy their time reading was always a great option. My generation uses the internet as a device to occupy their time.
With limitless possibilities for entertainment at their fingertips, one can sort of understand the lack of excitement that my generation may find in a book.
Granted,the internet is a virtual world of text and so in some ways my generation is in fact reading, but I hardly count a status update or Farmville user agreement as reading.
This article written in the New York Times from 2008 discusses the effects of the internet on literacy rates among teens Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Another great article on the decline of reading was written for Forbes in 2009. Are Hollywood And The Internet Killing Reading?
