How is the Decline of Reading in America Impacting Society?
Recent studies show that Americans are reading less every year, and while we seem to be shying away from books, we are turning to technology for entertainment more than ever. Technology has many advantages and has made great improvements for humanity, but at what cost? What is it that has many Americans putting down the books and picking up the cell phone or tablet? And how exactly is this affecting us as a whole?
There are many benefits of technological progression. While it does appear that the printed word is on its way out, that is great news for our environment. Thousands of trees are cut down every day to accommodate a dying art. Many people are skipping the newspaper and going straight to the news source online. It is faster, more environmentally conscious, and just plain efficient. There are also writing benefits to this great technology revolution. Studies have shown that children between the ages of 8 and 16, are more confident in their writing abilities if they text, blog, or post to social media on a regular basis (Thomas). So one might assume that with this limitless amount of information at our fingertips, that America would be more inclined to read. The answer is quite the opposite.
In Saul Bellow’s work “Hidden within Technology’s …show more content…
Literacy programs and others like it, encouraging children and adults to read began to appear everywhere. What is even more exciting is that when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in America, children began to read more (Withers, Ross). J.K. Rowling ushered in a new era of fantasy that was enticing children and adults (myself included) to open their imaginations to brand new worlds. Now young adults and children are the most literate in our country, far surpassing other demographics (Withers,
Recent studies show that Americans are reading less every year, and while we seem to be shying away from books, we are turning to technology for entertainment more than ever. Technology has many advantages and has made great improvements for humanity, but at what cost? What is it that has many Americans putting down the books and picking up the cell phone or tablet? And how exactly is this affecting us as a whole?
There are many benefits of technological progression. While it does appear that the printed word is on its way out, that is great news for our environment. Thousands of trees are cut down every day to accommodate a dying art. Many people are skipping the newspaper and going straight to the news source online. It is faster, more environmentally conscious, and just plain efficient. There are also writing benefits to this great technology revolution. Studies have shown that children between the ages of 8 and 16, are more confident in their writing abilities if they text, blog, or post to social media on a regular basis (Thomas). So one might assume that with this limitless amount of information at our fingertips, that America would be more inclined to read. The answer is quite the opposite.
In Saul Bellow’s work “Hidden within Technology’s …show more content…
Literacy programs and others like it, encouraging children and adults to read began to appear everywhere. What is even more exciting is that when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in America, children began to read more (Withers, Ross). J.K. Rowling ushered in a new era of fantasy that was enticing children and adults (myself included) to open their imaginations to brand new worlds. Now young adults and children are the most literate in our country, far surpassing other demographics (Withers,