"What happened to the girl that read? I used to read one book a week." I was shocked by those words that I uttered to a friend last summer. A friend that I used to discuss the themes, metaphors, and symbols of a book with. I don't even remember the last time I read a book that was not a textbook.
It was a wake-up call.
I've read the classics: "Huck Finn," "Tom Sawyer," "Pride and Prejudice," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Great Gatsby," "The Scarlet Pimpernel," the complete Anne of Green Gables series, "White Fang," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and the list goes on. I've also read many modern classics like "The Giver" and "A Wrinkle in Time."
Every time I have read one of those books, I finish it feeling enriched. But, what happened to me? Where did my reading habit go? Has your love for reading disappeared too?
The number of people who read for pleasure or read literature has been declining in recent years. Only 43% of Americans currently read for pleasure. This number has dropped 14% since the '80s.
There are some factors that affect why people aren't reading as much as they once did — the Internet, video games,
Demographics also play a part in who reads. Women are 14% more likely to read than men. Whites are 21% more likely to read than African Americans and 23% more likely to read than Hispanics. Education plays a factor, too. The more educated you are after high school, the more likely you are to read for fun.
Adversely, as children progress through their secondary education, their reading rates drop. When a child is nine-years-old, they are 34% more likely to read than seventeen-year-old. In fact, only 19% of seventeen-year-olds read for fun.
The numbers are dropping overall. Americans aren't reading as much as they used to. This, unfortunately, is making people miss out on some of the positive benefits of reading.
Reading literature, research suggests, has positive positive benefits for the individual and society. It makes people more empathetic and improves social functioning.
Reading is also shown to improve sleeping, patience, vocabulary, writing, creativity, and critical thinking skills, making you more open to new ways of thinking and possibilities.
Choosing not to read has harmful effects on the individual. People who watch television more than they read are experiencing decreased writing and thinking skills and people who do not read are more likely to lose more of their memory over time.
Since the 1980s, college students have become increasingly less empathetic and more narcissistic. It is interesting that the decrease in empathy and the increase in narcissism has happened over the same time period that reading in America has declined. Among sixteen- to twenty-four-year-olds, Americans are among the lowest few in literacy scores in the world.
Could this be caused by Americans decline in reading? It is possible. If we are going to make America great again, maybe we should do so by improving our numbers and literacy.
People should be reading more because it will produce a more well-rounded and healthier life for them, but it will also improve society. I know our smartphones are nice and shiny, but really, do we want to live in a society that values selfies and tweets, or a society that values critical thinking, creativity, and empathy?
It's up to you (and me).
Reading more is not going to be harmful to us. Reading more can only improve ourselves, and society at large.
Let's change the statistics, together. To all of you who feel the same way as I do, that the part of us that enjoyed reading for fun has disappeared. . . let's bring that side of us back. Let's become better thinkers, better writers, and more creative and empathetic people; all while reading a little more.
