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Students are Putting down Books and Picking up Tablets BY Audrey Buffi
Technology seems to be gradually replacing the popularity of reading among young adults. Moreover, reading between the lines shows that students are losing the ability to read between the lines.
BY AUDREY BUFFI
Technology seems to be gradually replacing the popularity of reading among young adults. Moreover, reading between the lines shows that students are losing the ability to read between the lines.
A specific treatment exists to delay, or even prevent, developing Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life: reading a book, magazine, or newspaper.
Reading stimulates the brain by developing the attention span and problem-solving skills, increasing vocabulary and memory, and expanding general knowledge.
However, the number of people who read regularly has decreased in recent years. According to the Pew Research Center, 23% of adults did not read a book during 2013, whereas in 1978, that number was only 8%. A survey conducted in 2014 revealed that 42% of college students did not plan to read in their lifetime after graduating college.
But what impact will this have on today’s students?
One theory claims that reading has been shown to increase empathy. According to the Theory of Mind, a branch of cognitive science, reading increases one’s ability to imagine life from another perspective.
In a study led by neuroscientist Gregory S. Berns, 21 undergraduate students were asked to read sections of the thriller novel, Pompeii, by Robert Harris, over the course of nine nights. Researchers then took MRI scans of their brains and revealed activity in the areas of their brain associated with language comprehension. Hoping to prove how reading stimulates brain activity, researchers are looking for ways to delay or prevent such ailments as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
With potential outcomes such as the prevention of dementia, it may seem to some that reading is the obvious pastime. Yet there are other ways to stimulate the brain, such as improving problem-solving skills.
Problem-solving is among the main reasons Vincent Maccarone, math teacher of 11 years, enjoys the subjects he teaches. “There are several word problems where reading skills and comprehension are used,” Maccarone explained. While reading improves problem-solving skills, working regularly with numbers in fields such as algebra, geometry, and trigonometry – all subjects taught by Maccarone – help develop problem-solving skills as well.
Many students, however, are forsaking reading for a less interactive form of media: television. According to an article by Christopher Bergland, writer for Psychology Today, television has an effect opposite to the Theory of Mind; children who watch television have been noted to have a significantly lower capacity for empathy.
The article states that children 8-18 years old watch three hours of television on average per day, and 61% of children under the age of two use some type of screen technology.
“Technology is showing new and different ways to develop the skills gained by reading,” said sophomore Cassondra Capezza. She plans on becoming a pediatrician, and as a result of technology, she does not consider reading a necessary life skill. She also suggests that students are easily bored by reading in favor of technology and social media.
However, Capezza claims to enjoy reading. She likes the new ideas it inspires in her, but the number of hours she spends reading per week is reduced by nearly half on weeks when school takes place. As described in research, reading becomes a lesser priority as people are tasked with additional responsibilities.
Whether or not the skills of reading can be obtained through technology, research shows that reading increases vocabulary and articulacy – leading to promotions in many fields. Social skills and the appeal of a wider vocabulary span from jobs in English to geometry to medicine. Will these skills gradually fade away as the decrease in reading among students progresses?
Jordan Weissmann of The Atlantic speculates, based on statistics from the National Education Association, that the decrease in student reading is potentially reaching a standstill, as numbers of frequent American readers have not plummeted since the popularization of Facebook.
As we move further into the twenty-first century, one thing is clear about reading. As one CHS teacher noted, “We need to use it, nurture it, and develop it on a daily basis.”