Essential Reading
AD AGE -- We need to get college students to read more because Irish reading habits parallel those documented in the States. Time spent reading appears to be diminishing, with older people (age 75+) reading about 72 minutes per day while teens spend just seven minutes a day with written material (not counting homework or time on the Internet).
Young adults and the middle-aged didn't do much better: those age 20-34 read 10 minutes a day and 45- to 54-year-olds read 19 minutes. Meanwhile, there appears to be plenty of time for TV: college-educated workers spend about 1.4 hours a day in front of the tube, while unemployed high school graduates watch four hours a day.
Why isn't time spent on the internet taken into consideration? I think the internet is a great way to promote reading.
Posted by: Young Irelander | May 17, 2005 at 01:25 AM
Because it's often easier to read pixels on a screen --the material is often more accessible, bite-sized, and less tedious. We have to inform our judgments with all forms of media and not dismiss newspapers, journals and books. I believe that's happening now and if it continues, it will hurt our cultural development.
Posted by: Bernie | May 25, 2005 at 05:07 AM