Is reading habit slowly dying?????
Gone those days were men, women and children buried themselves into books. Reading books considered as the most discussed topics amongst the people. One used to feel embarrassed when someone mentioned a book if the person hasn’t read or came across. Like today you feel when someone mentions movies or series which you haven’t watched or heard.
People were curious to read as many books as possible. The morning routine of the people started with the newspaper. Libraries, buses and trains were full of people reading newspapers.
Comics were the most popular books among kids. Every kid had a different collection of comic books of superheroes (X-men, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Spiderman etc.)
With one button, you can watch or read news online (e-paper). All newspaper is now available in digital format. People find it more convenient than buying and reading the newspaper. As the electronic media has made things easier, people are getting habituated to it. Now it is difficult for them to go back to the old reading habit. Especially the younger generation, as they are much addicted to the Internet.
Part of the joy is missing in the age of Amazon. Amazon changed the era of publication of books. People can access any contents or summary of books by reading comments and ratings of books. The e-books and audiobooks are the real game changer.
There are also some benefit as there is no need to carry heavy books with you while travelling. E-book reader or audiobook will help you to store 1000s of books in your device and carry with it. It got benefits like storage, costs, size, accessible and quantity of books.
But it led to the addition of devices like an e-book reader, smartphone, tablets, headphones etc.
Parents and teachers need to take initiative to develop reading habits in their children. Habits inculcated from childhood shapes the child into a better man. Books must be gifted as a birthday present or for scoring good grades in schools.
If parents and teachers knew how reading reaps benefits for their children and pupils, they would go bankrupt buying books.
In today’s world video games and social media and different kinds of entertainment has left reading habit far behind. The recent study shows that the average time spent on watching videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube is 5–6 hours if television not included.
So is reading dying, or is this just the usual shift in leisure patterns that will eventually even out?
How much do you read on a given day compared to your video consumption?