Generational
decline in reading
Eric Wright, posted Nov. 15, 2006
In the age of the Internet and TV, leisurely reading has become
sort of a lost pastime. For college students a pile of textbooks
may make one cringe at the thought of reading anything not
required by class.
“Internet and video games weren't available 25-30 years
ago. Book sales in general are down because of competition
with other forms of entertainment,” said Joe Chevalier,
a Stanford graduate and English major, who has been teaching
at MU for three years.
A 2002 Census taken by the National Education Association
shows literary reading is down 10.2 percent from their 1982
census, equating to roughly 20 million potential readers.
Even more defining are the statistics for young adults. Sixty
percent engaged in literary reading in 1982 while in 2002,
only 43 percent did.
The effect of such a decline is troubling not only for literary
professionals, but also for students who abstain from books.
“Reading makes you a better writer; I think that’s
why a lot of younger people come into composition classes
with strange prose styles as opposed to their parents’
generations,” Chevalier said.
Ken Greene, the owner of Acorn books located on Ninth Street,
also illustrated the importance of books but for informational
purposes.
“Many people come into here who are trying to problem
solve,” he said. “They are looking for information;
people come in here on a quest.”
Justin Biggs is a freshman at MU, and as a student has a difficulty
finding time to read.
“I would almost feel guilty trying to read anything
for pleasure. It seems like there is always something I could
be looking at for class.”
When asked what he does when he has free time. “Video
games,” he says with a grin.
