46 replies to this topic

[11th Heaven]

Title says it all.

I'm not the only one who finds it sad that so few other teenagers enjoy reading or even read at all, and I suspect I'm not alone in (irrationally) holding a higher opinion of someone who reads than I otherwise would. It's no mystery as to why fewer and fewer younger people read - there's so much cheap, fast entertainment available by other means - but is this a problem?* And why?

Credit for the topic inspiration goes to user:Larry for asking the near exact same question on the thread regarding essential works.

*One could argue that this cheap entertainment is of itself problematic, but I hope for the discussion to centre around whether the lack of reading itself is an issue.

Edited by 11th Heaven, 02 June 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[Grack21]

Screw young people and their popular music and their fashion and such.

You'd be surprised at the reading level of some young people today. It's.....distressing.

[Rhaquentis]

There are many young people reading books, including myself and many of my friends. There are people who started reading later in life, or started early and stopped because of multiple responsibilities. And since we are on a aSoIaF site, many young people were so fascinated with the show, that they started reading fiction. I don't believe the percentage has changed from when we were younger or will change when we get older, but it's funny how there will be always people saying that "young people don't do this, young people don't do that"... some people like to read, some don't and it will be like that for a long time to come. At least that's my opinion on the matter.

[Grack21]

Pretty sure a read an article recently about how the reading level of HS grads has dropped considerably, but hey, I'm just a bitter old man I guess. GETT OFF MA LAWN YOUTHS

[Migey]

I started reading 'proper' literature at the age of 11, starting with asoiaf. I think it benefited me greatly that I read so much, enhancing my vocabulary, spelling, and eloquence. It is not specifically a problem, but if more young people read more books, then average standards of intelligence in school would probably rise by a significant margin.

[Mikael]

Only if they want to succeed in school.

[Grack21]

Mikael, on 02 June 2012 - 11:34 PM, said:

Only if they want to succeed in school.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to get through school without reading shit. Ort maybe not.

[Serious Callers Only]

No... it's harmful... to me... since lots of writers start to write teen series, instead of 50+ protagonist series

[Apoapsis]

I don't see why it would be essential. All they need to be able to read to function in society is advertising slogans and miscellaneous short text messages (SMS/Twitter/Facebook), and subtitles if they don't live in an American-speaking country.

Maybe future generations will see novel reading as something desirable, if for no other reason than to stick it to their parents who haven't read anything longer than a fashion blog post.

[Ormond]

"Essential"? For what purpose?

It's certainly not essential for survival. And it is also not essential to be an ethical human being who has positive relationships with others and who makes a contribution to the world's betterment.

It is essential for being a well-rounded person who is knowledgeable about one's own culture. That's an important value, and personally I wish more people of all ages would regularly read fiction. But saying reading fiction is "essential" in the abstract seems to be giving it a bit too much importance.

[jagilki]

I had a teacher in.... I think 6th grade who flat out stated that reading fiction is "stupid" and "pointless" and if you are going to read for entertainment it should solely be history or biographies.

[Newsun]

My classmates, the vast majority of whom choose to abstain from reading, have reading levels, writing abilities, and vocabularies that in my mind an eighth grader should have. Kind of sad for seniors in high school. Sadder still, the average student here at my private school is better than the average public school student in my area.

[Newsun]

My classmates, the vast majority of whom choose to abstain from reading, have reading levels, writing abilities, and vocabularies that in my mind an eighth grader should have. Kind of sad for seniors in high school. Sadder still, the average student here at my private school is better in this regard than the average public school student in my area.

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

I read something not too long ago on the Requires Only That You Hate blog about this topic that actually changed my opinion on the matter. https://requireshate...essarily-worth/ I just unquestioningly thought, "It's always good for kids to read more. It makes them smarter and more imaginative, and it's disappointing when people tell me they don't read books." But after reading that, I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she said.

Younger people are going to be reading stuff like Harry Potter, Dragonlance, or any of the many young adult books that have recently gained a lot of attention due to being turned into films. I have nothing against people liking those things, but I don't think the people reading them have gained anything over the people who don't read at all. I know the argument is "reading those books will be a transition to reading better books," but what does that really accomplish? Why does reading a book carry the connotations of being wiser than someone who'd rather just watch a movie?

I started out reading Dragonlance as a kid, and honestly haven't strayed too far from fantasy. Sure, my book cases are dotted with a few books like The Road, or Brave New World, but mostly it's gritty monsters and magic stuff. The only thing I'd say reading has done for me is enlarge my vocabulary by exposing me to new words, and I can't even say if that's some huge benefit to me in life either.

I wouldn't say books that have stuck with me have done something other mediums can't. So I don't think kids who don't read are deprived of anything. There are thought provoking tv shows, songs, and everything else out there. Many people will never experience them though, and will go right for the reality show or new T-Pain song. It's the same with books. So why exalt someone who gets cheap entertainment from a book over someone who gets it from tv?

[Grack21]

Young people suck.

[Migey]

Grack21, on 03 June 2012 - 11:07 PM, said:

Young people suck.

That makes me sad :'(

[Mikael]

500 Internal jagilki Error, on 03 June 2012 - 01:45 PM, said:

I had a teacher in.... I think 6th grade who flat out stated that reading fiction is "stupid" and "pointless" and if you are going to read for entertainment it should solely be history or biographies.

He/she obviously had some bad luck when coming to that conclusion.

[Ormond]

Sonic The Hedgehog, on 03 June 2012 - 06:26 PM, said:

I started out reading Dragonlance as a kid, and honestly haven't strayed too far from fantasy. Sure, my book cases are dotted with a few books like The Road, or Brave New World, but mostly it's gritty monsters and magic stuff. The only thing I'd say reading has done for me is enlarge my vocabulary by exposing me to new words, and I can't even say if that's some huge benefit to me in life either.

"Huge" is a relative term, but a larger vocabuiary is nothing to be discounted. Of all the subscales on IQ tests, the one that correlates the most highly with the overall score is the vocabulary test. Having a good vocabulary is a very important asset in doing well in your education at every level from kindergarten through graduate school, so it really does have an influence on one's success in the modern world.

Of course I'm sure reading non-fiction is just as good as reading fiction for enlarging one's vocabulary, so you certainly could have gotten that benefit from a lot of other books besides Dragonlance!

[Sci-2]

Fiction offers insight into other people's minds, so I think it is valuable for young people to read certain types of works.

But there are a lot of things kids apparently should be nowadays, from being fit to learning more math, so we shouldn't over exaggerate the importance of fiction. I think there are many subjects related to computers, from graphic design to programming, that would help more kids be more employable.

ETA: Also, what Ormond said. I spent years upon years reading tie-in novels, but also global mythologies, and its made me - perhaps inexplicably - good at guessing definitions of words in context and interpreting texts. Seems like the truth is on some level reading for children, no matter what the book, is inherently more valuable than video games or TV.

Edited by sciborg2, 04 June 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[Mikael]

sciborg2, on 04 June 2012 - 12:55 PM, said:

Fiction offers insight into other people's minds, so I think it is valuable for young people to read certain types of works.

But there are a lot of things kids apparently should be nowadays, from being fit to learning more math, so we shouldn't over exaggerate the importance of fiction. I think there are many subjects related to computers, from graphic design to programming, that would help more kids be more employable.

ETA: Also, what Ormond said. I spent years upon years reading tie-in novels, but also global mythologies, and its made me - perhaps inexplicably - good at guessing definitions of words in context and interpreting texts. Seems like the truth is on some level reading for children, no matter what the book, is inherently more valuable than video games or TV.

Reading comprehension is an important skill in school math.