Do today's teens read less or more?
- andrea w
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Do today's teens read less or more?
- kg211970
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- DATo
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It is interesting to consider that prior to 1900 one of the most important diversions for young people was reading. There were no radios, TVs, movies or other forms of "personal escape diversion". It is also interesting to consider that the only way ANYONE, young or old, could hear music would be to attend a concert in the park or a recital. This is why you often see in movies of this period a member of the family entertaining dinner guests by singing or playing a musical instrument ... there was no other access to music. Thus story books and even poetry, which we largely dismiss these days, was an integral and important part of a young person's life.
When parlor radios became a part of the family furniture in the early part of the 20th century it was common to find the entire family around the radio in the evenings to listen to what today we would associate with audio books. There were audio presentations of dramas, comedy and music which were a new source of entertaining escape. Shortly after came movie theaters and then, after WWII, TVs became the dominant medium of entertainment and news broadcast. We have only to look about us at all the electronic devices from stereos, to DVDs, to computers which have come on the scene since then to see why fewer young people NEED to find entertainment and escape in books. So I think it is obvious that today's youth reads far less than they did 100 years ago and progressively less with the advent of each new technological invention which offers novel (no pun intended) distraction.
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- Fran
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And yet small kids still look for a bedtime story ... no change thereDATo wrote:This is a very interesting question and one which I have coincidentally devoted a lot of thought to.
It is interesting to consider that prior to 1900 one of the most important diversions for young people was reading. There were no radios, TVs, movies or other forms of "personal escape diversion". It is also interesting to consider that the only way ANYONE, young or old, could hear music would be to attend a concert in the park or a recital. This is why you often see in movies of this period a member of the family entertaining dinner guests by singing or playing a musical instrument ... there was no other access to music. Thus story books and even poetry, which we largely dismiss these days, was an integral and important part of a young person's life.
When parlor radios became a part of the family furniture in the early part of the 20th century it was common to find the entire family around the radio in the evenings to listen to what today we would associate with audio books. There were audio presentations of dramas, comedy and music which were a new source of entertaining escape. Shortly after came movie theaters and then, after WWII, TVs became the dominant medium of entertainment and news broadcast. We have only to look about us at all the electronic devices from stereos, to DVDs, to computers which have come on the scene since then to see why fewer young people NEED to find entertainment and escape in books. So I think it is obvious that today's youth reads far less than they did 100 years ago and progressively less with the advent of each new technological invention which offers novel (no pun intended) distraction.
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So, yes, I think there is still plenty of reading going on.
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- andrea w
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- DATo
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Very true Fran, but it is helpful to remember that the bedtime story ritual was originally introduced to the child by the parent; in many cases the child does not read along but simply listens (no work involved); and a bedtime story postpones the inevitable "Time to go to sleep." tyrannical, and wholly unreasonable parental diktat. But I do see the bedtime story as a great motivational catalyst for reading that may well foster in the child a love of reading which will last the remainder of the child's life.Fran wrote:
And yet small kids still look for a bedtime story ... no change there :wink:
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- RuqeeD
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Of course I can't say for everyone but my aunt always makes her children read to her at bedtime from their books rather than reading to them which instils a greater love of reading I think anyway and also forms a habit for the child. And ok I've used the word 'makes' which implies force/demands whatever which isn't really the case here (if it were, it's probably reinforcing the whole 'parental diktat' you mentioned - which in the long term isn't really beneficial). But for her and her children it works well, they've actually got to the point where they are eager for that portion of bedtime.DATo wrote:Very true Fran, but it is helpful to remember that the bedtime story ritual was originally introduced to the child by the parent; in many cases the child does not read along but simply listens (no work involved); and a bedtime story postpones the inevitable "Time to go to sleep." tyrannical, and wholly unreasonable parental diktat. But I do see the bedtime story as a great motivational catalyst for reading that may well foster in the child a love of reading which will last the remainder of the child's life.Fran wrote:
And yet small kids still look for a bedtime story ... no change there
- DATo
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Your aunt sounds like an amazingly insightful woman. Conditioning a child to actually want something that they might otherwise avoid requires true talent. I think the psychology at work here lies in the fact that the children feel they are empowered rather than being controlled. Kids have a hard way to go in life. Adults are constantly telling them what to do. In this instance they are given the authority to reverse the traditional role of storyteller. I think this instills a sense of responsibility to "get it right". Now if we could just bottle this ingredient into the oceans of soft drinks teens are drinking we'd really have something. *LOL*RuqeeD wrote:
Of course I can't say for everyone but my aunt always makes her children read to her at bedtime from their books rather than reading to them which instils a greater love of reading I think anyway and also forms a habit for the child. And ok I've used the word 'makes' which implies force/demands whatever which isn't really the case here (if it were, it's probably reinforcing the whole 'parental diktat' you mentioned - which in the long term isn't really beneficial). But for her and her children it works well, they've actually got to the point where they are eager for that portion of bedtime. :D
― Steven Wright
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I could be completely wrong of course!
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- Gannon
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Wow Fran, deep, very very deep. Sounds entirely plausible to me.Fran wrote:My bit of pseudo psychology says that in reading to a child you establishing a connection in the child's mind between reading & the one thing a child craves ... the exclusive attention of the parent or carer. If a parent or carer reads regularly to a child they are, for life, establishing in the child's mind an unconscious connection between reading and that time when they were most happy, safe & contented. I think that those of us, lucky enough to have been read to as children, for the rest of our lives picking up a book & reading takes us back unconsciously to that time when we had the exclusive attention of a parent & we can easily recall that feeling of security,safety, warmth & love we felt as a child lying in bed & being read to. It's a kind of mental security blanket we take with us all through life, if we're lucky.
I could be completely wrong of course!