Sad...very, very sad

[Highway61]

Keep the masses ignorant and you can pretty much get away with anything. The biggest threat to injustice and corruption is an educated population...

People aren't reading anymore...new study findings (from article)

Only 30 percent of 13-year-olds read almost every day.

The number of 17-year-olds who never read for pleasure increased from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.

Almost half of Americans between ages 18 and 24 never read books for pleasure.

The average person between ages 15 and 24 spends 2 to 2 1/2 hours a day watching TV and 7 minutes reading.

"This is a massive social problem," NEA chairman Dana Gioia, said by phone from Washington. "We are losing the majority of the new generation. They will not achieve anything close to their potential because of poor reading."...


http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/11/19/young_people_reading_a_lot_less/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Yes, and I think it shows!

[AndyA]

2. This is surprising. With the internet, it would seem people would be reading more,

unless it was specifically excluded from the study. I can see where people are spending less time reading magazines, newspapers, and books, but I thought a lot of that was due to the internet. :shrug:

[bdamomma]

8. ignorance is bliss I guess.

so sad.

[SoCalDem]

3. Tv-- video games-- jobs

teens view reading as "school-related"..and not fun..

I remember how excited i was when I got my VERY OWN library card, and could ride my bike by myself to check out books..

I'm willing to bet there are MANY kids who have never been inside the public library..

I used to take my boys for story hour at the llibrary a few times a week. and they all love books..

[earth mom]

20. I used to ride my bike to the library too. My life revolved around the library-still does in fact.

Our family goes to the library weekly, sometimes twice a week to check out at least half the books there-just kidding! Also, my kid has oodles of books of his own.

I remember being totally shocked to find out just how many people never bother to buy books for their kids and who never take their kids to the library. :wow:

[Ezlivin]

4. Give me library or give me death

If I had kept every book I'd bought I would have no room in my home.

I've given up television and lived without it before, but never reading. I can't imagine that.

[BOSSHOG]

7. What a sad twilight zone episode that one was

My wife and I are always reading books. And we always have a big pile for the used book store. So much better then TV or movies.

[Highway61]

9. Wow ...

I loved that episode of the Twilight Zone

[SoCalDem]

10. My favorite epsiode n/t

[DontTreadOnMe]

13. I agree...

I agree that "reading skills" are lower than previous decades, but I think kids these days are exposed to newer forms of education, such as the internet (via video) and television (via movies). When I was in elementary school, it was a big deal to get to watch a "science" movie in class. Today, there are 25 "educational movies on tv" every day. Do kids watch them? Yes. Maybe not as much as parents would like, but they are still exposed to the "same" amounts of educational material. The downfall today is in actual writing skills. That comes from reading by example. Kids today are just as bright as previous generations, but seem to have a hard time expressing it in writing.

[DontTreadOnMe]

14. I agree...

[KansDem]

5. Couple that with record times for TeeVee watching...

Nielsen Reports Television Tuning Remains at Record Levels


Digital Video Recorders Grow in Popularity
Contacts
Gary Holmes at The Nielsen Company: [phone]

New York, October 17, 2007 - The Nielsen Company reported today that television tuning during the 2006-2007 television year (September 18, 2006 to September 23, 2007) remained at the record levels set the previous year. Viewing nearly reached the record levels of a year ago, and the number of homes with Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) more than doubled.

According to Nielsen:

The total average time a household had a TV set tuned during the 2006-2007 television year was 8 hours and 14 minutes per day, the same amount of time as during the 2005-2006 season (September 19, 2005 to September 17, 2006) and a record high. (See Table 1.)
The average amount of television watched by individual viewers during the 2006-07 television year dipped by 1 minute per day to 4 hours and 34 minutes.
The number of households with Digital Video Recorders has grown steadily over the past several years, and as of today stands at 20.5% of Nielsen's National People Meter sample. This is up from 17.2% in May 2007. When Nielsen began including households with DVRs in its samples in January 2006, DVR penetration was estimated to be approximately 8% of households.

"Television clearly remains a very important part of daily life in the United States," noted Patricia McDonough, Senior Vice President of Planning Policy & Analysis at Nielsen Media Research. "There are numerous screens competing for time and attention as well as consumer devices providing new ways for viewers to watch their favorite shows. Regardless, these trends demonstrate that tuning to traditional television remains strong."

Nielsen

"TeeVee is the opiate of the masses"

[hlthe2b]

6. Unfortunately, their "writing" skills reflect this as well...

One of the best ways to improve written communication, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary is through reading. I can't begin to tell you how many college graduates (and even Master's Degree candidates) that I have tried to mentor, who simply can not write.

[SoCalDem]

11. On slow nights we would sometimes leaf through the job applications

and laugh our asses off at the "essay" sections..

[Highway61]

12. Oh, how I agree

kids can text message with the speed of light...but write? They can't write and spell on their own (spell check does it for them and calculators do the math) We are not heading in a good direction.

[bdamomma]

16. any sort of critical thinking or common sense is out the window.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Not to mention, like, their, like, speaking skills.

[Highway61]

18. .....

I am soooo like all over it dude :)

[Zookeeper]

17. I wrote a couple of brief game reviews recently....

and was shocked at the writing style of some of the other reviewers. Using text-message "English;" "U" instead of "you," for example. Misspelled words and barely coherent sentences were also common.

[earth mom]

21. My MIL has poor vocabulary & grammar. She's 80+ & has taken up reading after the death of my FIL.

I find it cute, but also sad that she didn't take up reading sooner. I suspect FIL frowned upon it as a waste of time-he was quite controlling. :eyes:

[pansypoo53219]

19. i think this has been always so.

BUT, at least we were vigorously educated. now we have teevee and video games and must entertain everybody at all times.
it's not just our asses that are mushy and fat filled.
more bread and circuses. but the packers won! whoo hoo!!!

[Spike89]

22. I edit books for a living, but still...

I am far from convinced this really means anything. Penmanship died at least a generation ago. I learned to use a slide rule in high school, but it's a wasted skill (that I don't still have). Kids today can read, and despite everyone's feeling that chatspeak is destroying English, the reality is that the most voracious texters actually excel at SAT language scores. Not surprising really, we don't freak out when a kid takes Spanish or French as a second language.

The world changes, media and people's reaction to it changes. To insist that today's youth aren't getting exposure to ideas and concepts just because they read fewer books isn't neccessarily true.

[rug]

23. I couldn't finish your post, I already read 6 minutes and 56 seconds today.