Why Reading Should Be Forgotten

    

    Reading is not as important as it was even though it has been around for a few thousand years. Reading should not happen as much in schools and should be replaced. Kids screen time has gone up over the last ten years and fewer kids have read books because of that. Movies are just as complicated as books so they have the same effect, kids will be bored if they have to read books, and reading is in the past because screens are becoming bigger and bigger.

 Kids need entertainment and they will not be happy if they are bored in school which takes up most of their day. In the 2018 CommonLit article "Why it Matters That Teens Are Reading Less” by Jean Twenge, there is a quote that explains why kids are getting bored of reading and want to move on to technology in their lives. “In 1980, 60% of 12th graders said they read a book, newspaper or magazine every day that wasn’t assigned for school. By 2016, only 16% did - a huge drop…” (Twenge). What it is saying is that there was a 44% drop in just 38 years. During those years social media and technology and Apple started to rise in fame and take over the world.

    Another reason that reading is in the past and we need to move on is because screens are getting bigger in our lives just like all of the other iPhones. We need to replace them every few years. The same article explains why more kids are now going to screens in their free time making them like it more than reading.

    “By 2016, the average 12th grader said they spent a staggering six hours a day texting, on social media, and online during their free time” (Twenge). It's trying to say that in their free time, 12th graders spent 6 hours a day on their texting and social media making them not like reading as much as they used to proving that they do not want to read anymore as they are growing up.

    Movies and shows are getting more complicated and they are getting just as complicated as books. Therefore books can be replaced with shows and other videos. In another article "Why it matters that teens are reading less," it asks "If television is literature, should it be taught in English class the same way traditional literature is taught?” This explains that if TV is the same as books how come schools won’t do it as much as books?

    Overall we now know that kids need more entertainment. Reading is in the past and movies are getting more complicated. School is a big part of our lives and we don’t want to waste a quarter of our life just reading and being bored.