Future of Reading
Introduction: Chapter 2 of Marshall's book got me thinking about other things that might have an influence on readers in the future. While Marshall looked primarily at the technology, software and other issues related to the reading material itself, Marshall also said there will be additional contributors to the future of reading. As both a mom and an educator, I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on the outlook of reading.A Narrative About Reading Now
I have two sons, 13 and 9 who both thankfully love reading. They also love video games and tv. I think my boys read more than most of their peers (although I'm not certain). I think this because other parents have asked us for book recommendations or lamented that they cannot seem to get their kids interested in reading.I don't know for sure why my kids like reading. I attribute a lot of it to the fact that my husband and I read often to them and we listened to audio books when going on long trips. It was important for me that my kids fell in love with stories, and they did. We also limit screen time. I think my boys would probably choose screens over books when given the choice, but when screens are not an option, the book is the first thing they pick up. Lastly, we always encourage reading at bedtime.
But we have not crossed the threshold to ereaders yet. They do read some things occasionally on their school ipads, but it's rare. I hesitate to mix print with screen because I want to give their eyes a break, I want to know what they are doing when they're on a screen, and we don't quite have the access to free ebooks like we do free library books. The library's ebook catalog is limited and complicated to use.
Many of my students say they either never did like to read or if they did enjoy reading, they have let the practice fall to the wayside; it has been replaced with socializing, homework, sports, a job, and the ever present iphone and it's tempting social media platforms. So, of course, they are reading; they just aren't reading books.
And that gets me to wonder...
What Will Reading Look Like in Everyday Life in 5-10 Years?
- I believe reading on these various platforms you have mentioned will continue to increase in their generic use and acceptance as viable forms of reading, writing, and general information sharing. These platforms are barely five or ten years old themselves and have already been allocated to elementary and middle school aged children as tools for learning, many educators assuming, as I am here, that these will be central technologies for our society going forward. And in this way, as these children hit college classes and the work force in the next decade, there probably will be a certain shift in the normativity of these reading media as reading media.
I totally agree with you; although, in my experience, these new technologies (mainly the ipad) isn't being used much for reading. The ipads are mostly used for STEM types of classes, or if they are used for reading it's not often for reading literature. As a mom I see a huge shift in the types of reading our kids are doing at school (and I can only speak for what's happening at my kids' school) away from literature and just reading for pleasure. - BJR - Fittingly, I think this will result in a comparable decrease in socially and academically expected levels of attention and focus. This has already been the case for the last few thousand years since the advent of reading as a technology was seen as necessarily resulting in lower levels of focus and retention. And now we are yet again in an age of redefining what we value in terms of literacy (whatever that means) for our society. So there will be a period of discomfort, but already I think we are entering into that period of acceptance.
Another contributor to this attention deficit is the instant gratification and rewards system build into many of these learning technologies. They are designed to mimic video games. We know that an instant gratification and extrinsic reward system is only effective in the long term, yet that is what education buys into. The feeling of discomfort you mention is a complex one because some of it is just traditionalists not wanting to change, while some of it is deeply rooted in ethical concerns about the long-term effects this might have on a generation. -BJR - But I also think that the age of paper will never quite be over. Even though written work usurped the oral tradition and we use orality far less than text, it is not altogether abandoned. Speeches, lectures, audiobooks, and talk radio are still prevalent and valued in our society. And especially given Marshall's piece, I think people will always see paper texts as a valuable alternative or option, despite or regardless of further technological advance. Plus, despite scholarly opinion about social constructions of value, its pretty hard to shake attachments to symbolic items.
I think paper will stick too. Maybe not forever, but for a while longer. I thought it was interesting that Marshall said that while paper is still going strong, people are not reading as much. Marshall said people print with the intention of reading it later. I bet that's true about a good percentage of books that are purchased also. It makes people feel good to buy a new book, but I wonder how many never get read. We buy a few books at second hand stores, and they look brand new.- BJR - Books will stick around, libraries and summer reading programs will still be advocated for, kids will continue to complain about having to read Shakespeare and turn to modern alternatives (the next West Side Story perhaps?), book stores will continue to steadily decline, used book shops will stack their dusty merchandise until well past fire code limits, and I'll continue to sit back with my dad's old copies of Tolkien, smell the yellowed bindings, be reminded for a moment that a digital source according to Marshall is equally readable, then settle in and flip the brittle pages carefully, perhaps reading aloud to my own children.-- The future of libraries is another issues and a concern of mine. I LOVE the Rochester Public Library! We visit there at least once a week for something. I've always been able to find either the book I'm looking for or one very similar. This library was so much better than ones I'd had access to in other cities and towns. The kids section is amazing! But then a couple of years ago, the interior took on some new changes. Book shelves in the children's area were removed and replaced with small play ground type equipment. A small room was remodeled near the children's area to host a -BJR
--Peter
Other Sources on the Topic of Reading in the Future
|Sven Birkerts. The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age Faber and Faber, 1994 - BonnieI, BonnieRobinson, added the purple comments to Peter's bullet points.
