I got back into reading in the last couple of years. I was already reading a bit more, but it cranked up when I got a job with a lot of downtime. Plus, finding a topic that is endlessly interesting helps: first two-hundred years of christianity. (I’m an atheist and a history nerd.)
this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2025
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Obviously the Internet plays a big role in this as people have said, but it's worth mentioning this was also the era where tv stopped sucking (from reality tv awfulness to a bunch of absolute banger dramas), AND where Netflix and then other streaming services became available. So there are huge competition effects.
I've also never bought fully into the "reading good TV bad" mindset. Leisure is leisure, especially if the article's raised point is "identifying with literary characters". That certainly happens in other forms of media. Even if it's reading to learn, I watch a LOT of YouTube these days, and probably 75% of what I watch is how to and instructional. Also let's not forget with each new form of leisure: "fast-paced music" (classical), books for the masses, magazines, tv, jazz, rock and roll, DnD, the internet, VR etc....there was always someone saying the new stuff will rot your brain while they pine for something that was maligned when it was new.
If anything the internet makes reading easier than ever. It's not hard to download a small eBook file on your phone for free.
That makes a lot of sense.
This might make some of you uncomfortable, but it seems like this coincides with women's adoption of tech and social media.
Women already read at way higher rates than men, but since so many of them are swept up in the social media hysteria, they literally don't have time or patience to do it any more.
Interesting. I made an active choice to read more a few years ago, and now I'm reading more thani ever did before. I'm at 25 books so far this year, averaging over 600k pages each. Although many of those are audio books during my long commute, I'm still getting the stories.
Gmork would be pleased.
We can't extrapolate data from "Americans" to say "people in general" like this title does.
Americans and declining education is not a new phenomenon nor is it global. Americans are also not role models for anything.
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There's so much worse happening to society, so many more important things the media and "studies" could be pushing.
Why isn't this article about the growth in the wage gap between lowest paid and highest at companies between those years.
Why isn't it about the fact we're in a new dark age of war where starvation (Gaza) and chemical weapons (Ukraine) are being used.
"Wouldn't it be nice if people read more"
Yes, but shut the fuck up and turn your media clout to something more important. Fix the quality of life and justice issues.
The Neo-Liberal force of the media and academia are largely misapplied to both-siding Capitalism and the Capitalist Fascism it's produced, and I'm sick of it.
Your post is why I read.
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