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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 2, 2009 10:35:15 GMT 10
Withering Heights – The Slow Death Of Reading The pun in the title should give away the fact that I am referring to the consumption of literature, not a city in southern England. But anyway, it probably won’t have escaped the attention of my fellow teenagers that reading is a hobby that seldom lights up the lives of youth. In fact, indulging in the latest five hundred page novel is considered “geeky” and can cause ridicule from your peers. There is no way it should be like that, but why is it so? Firstly, I would cite the fact that there are so many more technologically advanced things to do with your leisure time these days, including the very computer I’m typing this article on. With all of the exploding aliens and splattering blood that technology offers on tap, thousands of words printed on paper seems a far less appealing prospect to the everyday teen. It is slightly worrying to see that the future of our society are the kind of people who can’t be arsed to do something that requires a bit more brain activity than Grand Theft Auto. Of course, I can completely understand why they think this, but I wish more people would learn to exercise the human thirst for knowledge and open up all the possibilities that reading offers to them. Tying into this theory is the fact that a healthy proportion of successful books and book series get adapted into blockbuster movies, meaning that it gives the lazy bastards who are intrigued by the idea of a story, but simply don’t want to put themselves through the mental exertion of reading it, an excuse to abstain until they can have it spoon fed to them via a big screen. People who possess this attitude are the bane of my life as I am then forced to embark on the arduous task of trying to explain the benefits of a good read. Oh yes, I pull out all of the benefits from the ability to picture whole new worlds inside your head and separate yourself from reality for hours on end to the relief of boredom. You would think the latter would be especially appealing as the kind of people who don’t read books are usually the kind of people who update their Facebook status every five minutes with the phrase “is soooooo bored” or, more often than not, “iz bord enit”. Finally, and possibly the strongest reason for the alienation of the younger generation from literature is the way reading is introduced in schools. From a very early age, children are taught to read by being forced to plough their way through immensely boring tales that, whilst honing the skills required for the child’s future life, do nothing to promote a love of literature in the average child. Until someone has access to a large supply of books from which they can choose, it is likely that they will resent reading as it is just another form of control. As soon as reading ceases to be compulsory, a lot of people just stop as they see it as a form of freedom from another chore blocking them from doing whatever the hell they want to do. Of course, reading should be what they want to do. However, this is obviously not the case due to it being associated with control by the kids. So this is my take on why reading is not the mainstream hobby it once was. By all means leave your theories and comments below as to why reading isn’t as popular these days. I have a sneaky suspicion that the decline in reading is one of the reasons why talking in text speak is now more popular than the proper English language, but that’s another story for another article.
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Post by Butterfly Effect // Conor on Sept 2, 2009 17:49:37 GMT 10
Reading is sexy... I have a badge to prove it.
On a more serious note I think that the death of reading is very closely related to our generation's hatred of all things "geeky" especially if you take into account the success of Harry Potter and to a greater extent Twilight, book series' that have become 'cool'. The problem with this of course is that we are not using these 'cool' books as stepping stones to other literature. I personally know someone who actualy reads the Twilight series from start to finish then repeats the process instead of moving onto other books.
That being said I don't think Australia is affected by this anywhere near as much as England does from what you've indicated as there still is some reading going on (albeit they are cheaply made and disposable vampire love stories made to cash in on Twilights popularity).
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Post by playingpretend on Sept 2, 2009 18:59:50 GMT 10
On a more serious note I think that the death of reading is very closely related to our generation's hatred of all things "geeky" especially if you take into account the success of Harry Potter and to a greater extent Twilight, book series' that have become 'cool'. The problem with this of course is that we are not using these 'cool' books as stepping stones to other literature. I personally know someone who actualy reads the Twilight series from start to finish then repeats the process instead of moving onto other books. That being said, a lot of 'geeky' things are coming back into vogue. I've noticed a lot around where I live that the girls are all 'emo' or 'indie', and the boys are all 'indie' or 'geeky'. I know a few people that have actually gone on to read more after reading books like Harry Potter, my sister being the biggest success story. Before she picked up HP, getting her to read anything was a chore, but now she's more likely to curl up with a book than anything else, and not just HP but a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. I suppose it comes down to not only personal preference, but social conditions as well. I grew up in a very booky environment, as did most of my friends, but someone that's come from a less well-read family is definitely more likely to avoid picking up a book because they don't want the social stigma. Personally, I'd rather read a book than play a video game. I will always read the book before seeing the movie (and then complain for weeks about how the movie destroyed the story). And I will try and instill those habits on my (future) children.
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Post by Tovarisch on Sept 3, 2009 0:01:04 GMT 10
Reading is sexy... I have a badge to prove it. On a more serious note I think that the death of reading is very closely related to our generation's hatred of all things "geeky" especially if you take into account the success of Harry Potter and to a greater extent Twilight, book series' that have become 'cool'. The problem with this of course is that we are not using these 'cool' books as stepping stones to other literature. I personally know someone who actualy reads the Twilight series from start to finish then repeats the process instead of moving onto other books. That being said I don't think Australia is affected by this anywhere near as much as England does from what you've indicated as there still is some reading going on (albeit they are cheaply made and disposable vampire love stories made to cash in on Twilights popularity). England, however, is always an indication of where we are heading in the coming years. Look at the state of the current teen population in England. They smoke, drink and have sex at a younger age of there, but Australia is only a few years behind.
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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 3, 2009 6:04:07 GMT 10
Reading is sexy... I have a badge to prove it. On a more serious note I think that the death of reading is very closely related to our generation's hatred of all things "geeky" especially if you take into account the success of Harry Potter and to a greater extent Twilight, book series' that have become 'cool'. The problem with this of course is that we are not using these 'cool' books as stepping stones to other literature. I personally know someone who actualy reads the Twilight series from start to finish then repeats the process instead of moving onto other books. That being said I don't think Australia is affected by this anywhere near as much as England does from what you've indicated as there still is some reading going on (albeit they are cheaply made and disposable vampire love stories made to cash in on Twilights popularity). Well yeah, anything given the term "geeky" is automatically shunned into nothingness by the mainstream who fight hard to avoid the stigma associated with being a geek. Most of us have accepted that stigma and are happy to deal with it, but that's a whole new story. The problem with some of those books that actually do get a certain level of mainstream attention is that they are almost guaranteed to be adapted on either film or TV, meaning that there is an excuse for people to be lazy and wait until this adaptation arrives. On a more serious note I think that the death of reading is very closely related to our generation's hatred of all things "geeky" especially if you take into account the success of Harry Potter and to a greater extent Twilight, book series' that have become 'cool'. The problem with this of course is that we are not using these 'cool' books as stepping stones to other literature. I personally know someone who actualy reads the Twilight series from start to finish then repeats the process instead of moving onto other books. That being said, a lot of 'geeky' things are coming back into vogue. I've noticed a lot around where I live that the girls are all 'emo' or 'indie', and the boys are all 'indie' or 'geeky'. I know a few people that have actually gone on to read more after reading books like Harry Potter, my sister being the biggest success story. Before she picked up HP, getting her to read anything was a chore, but now she's more likely to curl up with a book than anything else, and not just HP but a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. I suppose it comes down to not only personal preference, but social conditions as well. I grew up in a very booky environment, as did most of my friends, but someone that's come from a less well-read family is definitely more likely to avoid picking up a book because they don't want the social stigma. Personally, I'd rather read a book than play a video game. I will always read the book before seeing the movie (and then complain for weeks about how the movie destroyed the story). And I will try and instill those habits on my (future) children. I don't think it's the geek lifestyle that is in vogue, but I think that the geek look is somewhat cool what with the popularity of David Tennant's attire in Doctor Who. Indeed, the case with a lot of people is that they just need to get into reading once. As soon they have experienced the joy of a good book, they develop a thirst for it and ill continue to indulge in reading in the future, which is of course fantastic. Growing up in an environment full of books would definitely have an effect, but the stigma is still there anyway. In fact, I would say that coming from a family like that would give you even more of a thirst to avoid the social ostracism. I am exactly the same. I complain about book-film adaptations so damn much. xD
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Post by playingpretend on Sept 3, 2009 20:04:34 GMT 10
I don't think it's the geek lifestyle that is in vogue, but I think that the geek look is somewhat cool what with the popularity of David Tennant's attire in Doctor Who. Indeed, the case with a lot of people is that they just need to get into reading once. As soon they have experienced the joy of a good book, they develop a thirst for it and ill continue to indulge in reading in the future, which is of course fantastic. Growing up in an environment full of books would definitely have an effect, but the stigma is still there anyway. In fact, I would say that coming from a family like that would give you even more of a thirst to avoid the social ostracism. I am exactly the same. I complain about book-film adaptations so damn much. xD I've noticed the younger generation bragging about having the latest video game or most up to date computer more often than I see them dressing 'geek', but maybe that's just wear I live.
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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 4, 2009 6:07:02 GMT 10
I don't think it's the geek lifestyle that is in vogue, but I think that the geek look is somewhat cool what with the popularity of David Tennant's attire in Doctor Who. Indeed, the case with a lot of people is that they just need to get into reading once. As soon they have experienced the joy of a good book, they develop a thirst for it and ill continue to indulge in reading in the future, which is of course fantastic. Growing up in an environment full of books would definitely have an effect, but the stigma is still there anyway. In fact, I would say that coming from a family like that would give you even more of a thirst to avoid the social ostracism. I am exactly the same. I complain about book-film adaptations so damn much. xD I've noticed the younger generation bragging about having the latest video game or most up to date computer more often than I see them dressing 'geek', but maybe that's just wear I live. Ah. I see what you mean. The fact is that video games and high spec computers are now very popular amongst the mainstream and have as such become less associated with geekdom.
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Gus
Backpage Editor
Posts: 5
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Post by Gus on Sept 6, 2009 2:53:18 GMT 10
I blame the education system. I was put off reading for about three years after being force fed the likes of Austin and du Maurier by my school. Then I discovered "Soldier I" and it kick started my love of reading again. I think everyone can enjoy a book so long as it's on something they'e interested in
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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 7, 2009 7:53:31 GMT 10
I blame the education system. I was put off reading for about three years after being force fed the likes of Austin and du Maurier by my school. Then I discovered "Soldier I" and it kick started my love of reading again. I think everyone can enjoy a book so long as it's on something they'e interested in That is exactly it. If your only experience is of shit books, you will naturally consider reading in general to be shit. It only takes one good reading experience to convert you for life.
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Post by playingpretend on Sept 8, 2009 20:17:57 GMT 10
Ah. I see what you mean. The fact is that video games and high spec computers are now very popular amongst the mainstream and have as such become less associated with geekdom. Or more people are admitting to being geeks I don't mind being in the minority as a reader though, it means less debacles like the reaction to Twilight. I first read them when they were originally released, but now I don't even like seeing them on my bookshelf. Not because of the content per se (but it sure isn't brilliant writing), but because 99% of the fans annoy the stuffing out of me.
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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 9, 2009 5:00:16 GMT 10
Ah. I see what you mean. The fact is that video games and high spec computers are now very popular amongst the mainstream and have as such become less associated with geekdom. Or more people are admitting to being geeks I don't mind being in the minority as a reader though, it means less debacles like the reaction to Twilight. I first read them when they were originally released, but now I don't even like seeing them on my bookshelf. Not because of the content per se (but it sure isn't brilliant writing), but because 99% of the fans annoy the stuffing out of me. Twilight's screaming fan base are super annoying. I love the books (although it's hardly a writing masterclass), but I feel that you are automatically pigeon-holed as a Twilight fan because of the stereotype incited by these idiots.
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Post by Tovarisch on Sept 9, 2009 7:14:05 GMT 10
I would agree with you there.
I read "I read Twilight" and thought "Oh dear lord! >_<".
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Post by TomBeasley on Sept 11, 2009 5:15:23 GMT 10
Speaking of the annoying Twilight fans, I have recently read The Twilight Companion and it is written by one of the stereotypical fangirls. It's all about how "compatible" you are with Edward and her constant crooning and squeeing made me angry. It also kept referring to "your guy" or "the guy you want" which doesn't exactly help to transcend the stereotype about boys not liking it. So angry at the author of it.
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Post by playingpretend on Sept 12, 2009 16:37:31 GMT 10
Twilight's screaming fan base are super annoying. I love the books (although it's hardly a writing masterclass) My favourite thing about Twilight is that you don't need to use your brain while reading them
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Post by Tovarisch on Sept 13, 2009 1:54:39 GMT 10
I refuse to go anywhere near the series.
I plan to buy "The Road" when i next go to borders.
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