The culture of reading

THE culture of reading has been declining in the country since ages. According to modern-era youths, the contributing factor for this is that books are not attracting readers anymore as they used to. It gives me pain when the youths of the present ignore reading productive books which can be the building blocks of character, economy, society, politics and nation. As William Somerset Maugham said: “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. ” So build a library at home. The reading habit has been a great help in developing knowledge.

But today in an age when browsing the net, playing with mobiles and passing non-stop SMS seem to be the order of the day, TV and films fill the minds of youth. We have to think about it seriously as to how the growing generation can find time to read. While technology is taking control steadily over individual lives, so the reading habit is fast vanishing into thin air. However, research on funding problems of the Pakistani nation shows that the poor economy of the country, inflation, low priority on education and price increase of books are the main causes of the dilemma.

Furthermore, I believe when there is no peace at home, then how can a writer justify its literature and pay heed to it. I believe change in lifestyle is another reason for the decline. Besides, it is tough and intense competition in seeking jobs which has led to further deepening the insecurity among middle-class families, discouraging the habit of reading books other than textbooks. Moreover, book-market consumerism is the only scale that decides publishing of books. In order to sustain a strong reading culture among youths, misuse of net and technology should be banned.

It is important that parents of teenagers should not allow their children to use mobile phones. In every village, town and city libraries should be set up by the government. At schools, colleges and universities, along with textbooks, some general books should be recommended and discussed. Reading is foundational to learning and the information acquisition upon which people make decisions. For centuries, the capacity to read has been a benchmark of literacy and involvement in community life. In the 21st Century, across all types of U.

S. communities, reading is a common activity that is pursued in myriad ways. As technology and the digital world expand and offer new types of reading opportunities, residents of urban, suburban, and rural communities at times experience reading and e-reading differently. In the most meaningful ways, these differences are associated with the demographic composition of different kinds of communities — the age of the population, their overall level of educational attainment, and the general level of household income.

Several surveys by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reveal interesting variations among communities in the way their residents read and use reading-related technology and institutions: Book readers: Some 78% of Americans ages 16 and older say they read a book in the past 12 months. Urban (80%) and suburban (80%) residents are especially likely to have read at least one book in the past year. While rural residents are somewhat less likely to have read a book in the past year (71%), the book readers in rural areas read as many books as their counterparts in cities and suburbs.

Purposes for reading: Most of those ages 16 and older read books for pleasure, and that is especially true of suburban readers: 82% of suburbanites read for pleasure, compared with 79% of urban residents and 76% of rural residents. Urban residents (80%) and suburban dwellers (79%) are also especially likely to read to keep up with current events. Some 73% of rural residents do that. More than three-quarters of suburban residents (77%) read to research topics that interest them, compared with 74% of urban residents and 70% of rural residents.

Finally, 57% of suburbanites and 58% of city dwellers read for school or work, compared with 47% of rural residents who do that. Americans and libraries: The majority of Americans ages 16 and older (58%) have a library card and even more (69%) say the library is important to them and their families. Some 71% of city dwellers say the library is important to them and 59% have library cards — and 69% of suburban residents say the library is important and 61% have library cards. At the same time, 62% of rural residents say the library is important and 48% have library cards.

Book recommendations: Family and friends are the primary source of book discovery for Americans 16 and older, especially so for suburban (66%) and urban residents (66%). Some 60% of rural residents say they get book recommendations from family and friends. Similarly, city dwellers (25%) and suburbanites (24%) are more likely than rural residents (18%) to have gotten recommendations from book stores they visit. Residents of all three kinds of communities are equally likely to say librarians and library websites are sources of book recommendations.

Newspaper and journal readers: Some 58% of those ages 16 and older say they regularly read newspapers. There are not noteworthy differences across communities in the numbers of people who regularly read newspapers. But suburban residents (57%) and urban dwellers (56%) are more likely to say they at times read their newspapers on handheld devices than rural residents (45%). When it comes to magazines and journals, 52% of the suburbanites ages 16 and older say they read them regularly, compared with 47% of urban dwellers and 44% of rural residents.

Among those who read magazines and journals, 36% of urban readers and 33% of suburban readers read their magazines and journals at times on handheld devices. That compares with 24% of rural readers who read magazines and journals that way. Preferences for e-books vs. print books: Some 14% of readers read an e-book and a printed book in the past year. Those book readers in dual platforms were asked which type of book is better for different reading activities such as sharing books with others, reading in bed, reading with a child, or reading while traveling.

Generally, urban readers in both formats are more likely to prefer e-books for many reading activities, while rural readers who have read in both formats tend to prefer print. In the past when television and computers were not yet prolific, people spend most of their time reading books. It was through reading that people knew about the outside world as well as other intellectual information. Newspapers and magazines were valued. The library was a favorite hangout as they can read more books that would increase their knowledge.

However, because of the vast impact of internet and television, the habit of reading books and newspapers is continually degrading. Some individuals would prefer watching movies or the news than to read about the information they need. Leisurely, some would prefer chatting with friends through the internet than reading a book. This essay on habit of reading will try to present information on why despite the technological developments in media viewing, reading is still one of the meritorious habits that a person should have.

Despite advancement, a person who loves to read will continue on doing so in whatever form the information could come. This essay regards reading as one of the few habits without any negative side effects. There is no harm that an individual could get when he or she indulges in too much reading. Through reading, a person’s vocabulary increases and in turn the individual becomes more knowledgeable than others. As the individual is exposed to different forms of writing, his or her writing skill also develops.

Reading also improves the concentration of an individual. A student who loves to read would be self sufficient and have fewer chances of getting diverted or spoiled. Like any other habits, the habit of reading is not developed overnight. It is something that is developed. Each individual has their own preference on the type of written material he or she likes to read. Some factors that could contribute to an individual’s choice of written material are personal taste, the availability written material, suggestions from others, and reading environments.

The habit of reading should be developed in each individual as it could bring fulfillment every time it is successfully carried out. Knowledge once earned can be spent throughout once lifetime. “To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries. ” Reading is a particular exercise that not only gives an insight to the world around, but gives us an inner relief.

When we read a particular fiction or book, we start identifying ourselves with the characters of the book, and our life with the story line. By reading books, newspapers, journals, magazines, we actually get a reflection of the society. In this 21st century, it has become very much important to be updated. Newspaper is a great way of keeping ourselves updated. It generally contains hard news, soft news, articles, and editor’s note. Though many ways have been developed over the recent past to keep ourselves informed, but these couldn’t minimize the importance of newspapers.

Newspapers are considered to be the best morning tea mate. But the habit of reading this must be cultivated in a very early age. In the initial stage children may feel bore to read newspapers. So it depends upon the parents to generate the interest among children and involve them in reading the paper. Parents can in the initial stage, read out some news to the children and discuss about its impact with them. This sort of exercise makes children involved in the activity and when parents ask about their opinion, they start taking interest as well.

Moreover, papers also contain comic strips. Children take more interest in reading those comics. So they can be regularly introduced with those topics which in long run infuse their interest to the reading habits. As newspapers contain news related to politics, this generates a child’s interest towards political issues of the country, how the government works, what are the latest plans that government has implemented and so on. This helps children become a responsible global citizen. Reading newspapers also benefits the kids as it improves their vocabulary.

Reading a paper requires patience. Children reading the paper often noticed to have more patience than children who don’t have this habit of reading. The importance of paper reading has well recognized by the modern day schools. Present day schools have sophisticated school library where different national and local newspapers are available to the children. There are special classes allotted for the newspaper reading. As papers contain news and stories related to multiple issues, kids get a detailed insight about the world around by reading it.

Parents can make a routine for every day newspaper learning so that children can be reap the benefit from that. News papers also contain kid’s columns so that children also find interest in that. In those columns lives of great men, short stories, poems and kids made art works take are published. This sort of interaction with the children influences them to aspire for their dream and chase those in life. News paper reading has a host of benefits. It ultimately depends upon the parents and teachers to cultivate this habit among children because it helps creating responsible world citizens.