Everybody’s heard older generations complaining about kids not reading enough these days. Kids need to read more. Complain, complain, complain. I think these are a bunch of lies. I believe kids today read more than ever before. While it may not be the highest quality books that are being read, reading still takes place. Instead of books the internet has added a whole new demension of reading to the lives of youth. Whether it be social networking sites where people read about their friends, Magazines about celebrities, or advertisements everywhere you look. Reading happens. Its unavoidable. Now its not reading about the imaginary lives of fairy people and wizards like in the books of our parents, rather it is reading about the overly dramatic lives of real people . Its still reading. And yes, i realize what we do does not have the same benifits. But who needs a deep vocabulary. Languages are ever evolving so its only natural that we forget about some of these old terms as we gain and create our new ones. We gain and we lose it’s only the natural method of things as our generation shapes the new world.
So don’t tell me I’m not reading enough. I’m reading more than you ever did. Difference is im just not reading what you want me to read. For this reason, I demand old people to find a new cliche phrase, because what they keep saying is just not true; Its just- not- true.
(Disclaimer: For some people this may not apply…)
Yes, they do read. very true, but my question is…
How good is the content they read??
It worries me, the way some of the “PEOPLE” mag writers talk. But thats part of the times I suppose. Then again I’m only twenty six… old for my age I guess
Comment by featherbookseries — December 5, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
Reading a friend’s status on a social networking site like Facebook is not the same as reading an actual novel. Its the same thing as saying that reading a stop sign still counts as reading. Kids need to read things of substance for it to be worth-while.
Comment by jpodolnick — December 6, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
My point is that it is reading. Im not argueing that its substantial or worthwhile, only that, the action itself, in fact occurs on an extremely regular basis. Thus rendering common truism, previously mentioned, false.
Comment by jtannenbaum — December 6, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
well the “common truism” is really meant to mean that kids don’t read enough things of substance. Everyone would agree that reading the TV guide doesn’t count as actual reading.
Comment by jpodolnick — December 12, 2008 @ 10:44 am
who are you to judge. To tribal children in africa, that may be the closest thing to a substantial reading they ever see. how do you define a reading as “of substance”. Is it not variant from person to person… “Everyone” is a very all encompasing word, i mean, it leaves out no one…
Comment by jtannenbaum — December 12, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
I agree that this is a topic worthy of debate and investigation. But before you reach any firm conclusions, you should check out this recent NEA-funded study on the state of reading in the US today. It’s interesting stuff.
Comment by hnodler — December 16, 2008 @ 6:00 pm