Why is there a loss of interest in reading?

[Big Dante]

At my school I have actually been surprised by how many people do read. You walk through the locker room and pass over 5 people sitting down with books.

[IceM]

The quick answer: Society has evolved. There weren't computers and social networks and video games and accessible opportunities for travel as early as fifty years ago. As humanity's ability to create evolves, so to does his ability to create alterior forms of entertainment. The theorized "lack of interest in reading" in fact has little to do with the quality of literature produced as it does the amount of competition it faces for one's attention. I doubt Dickens would have been as popular had television and internet existed during his time.

Literature is a slow-blooming experience that requires an attentive mind and deep contemplation. This thick experience often competes against more instant forms of entertainment, and unless you have an acquired taste for literature, the reasons for choosing the latter over the former seem reasonable.

The long answer: there isn't a lack of interest. More people are reading today than ever. If your question is really "Why is there a loss of interest in [critical] reading?" perhaps we may have a different answer. But literature is no longer the apex of one's experience as it was for the many centuries before. And there are no shortage of people reading and analyzing classical literature. The internet has provided us means to connect with people throughout the world. Only through such a communicative process are we able to gauge the literary interests of those worldwide. In relation to the world, the proportion of those analyzing classical literature is perhaps low, but the mass itself, especially in comparison to prior eras, is staggeringly large. It is the sense of proportion--that we are a small group amongst a large body--that distorts our comprehension of literature's contemporary audience.

[Emmy Castrol]

I have to say that I am part of the camp of the people who believe this trend, of decline in reading, is imaginary. There will always be people who like to read and the proportion of them will always be less to the proportion of the population who don’t like to read. Also, until about half a century ago, a large percentage of the population were illiterate. In fact, I live in a developed nation so perhaps they still are illiterate.

I actually think that because of improved literacy in developed countries, more people are found to be reading. About 10% of each carriage I am in, whilst commuting to work, are found with a book in their hands – reading. Rubbish perhaps but still reading. I disagree with the first poster on their taste of books – I would prefer a senseless romance to Jane Austen.

I’ve found reading also to be a very introvert activity. People who prefer video games and television would have preferred it over reading in the first place. Growing up, I was about the only person out of all of my friends who read (for enjoyment – there were many who read for pretentious reasons) and I never thought there was anything unusual about it.

I also have to add, living in Australia, that I am actually very happy with the demise of Borders. I feel that the presence of Borders in Australia contributed much to the decline of titles in its smaller competitors and to a gradual decline over time (after they chased away the competition) in titles in Borders stores.

[ralfyman]

Commercial mass entertainment, which in turn requires an abundance of resources, including oil, to maintain industrialization and consumer spending. But given fears of a resource crunch, including a drop in global oil production....

[goatlips]

The best and most enjoyable reading is literary fiction. Other types merely convey information which can be gotten in other formats (which may be more convenient). Unfortunately, when in school we associate literary classics with exams and thus cannot enjoy them. Some lucky people discover when they graduate that reading is fun but school does little to prepare for this.

[stlukesguild]

The best and most enjoyable reading is literary fiction.

Is it? I quite like a good deal of non-fiction: Goethe's Italian Journey, Plato's Republic, Emerson's Essays, Montaigne's Essays, J.L. Borges' Essays, Boswell's Life of Johnson, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Rousseau's Confessions, etc...

To this I would add the genre of poetry which is every bit as great (if not greater) than that of literary fiction.

[stlukesguild]

*duplicate*