Changing Reading Habit
Reading habit is the
mark of civility of a nation. The more reading habit a nation has got as a
whole the more it is marked as civilized Reading books and other materials of
learning makes individuals enlightened, elevating their intelligence level. It
makes them morally high, giving them a clear sense of good and bad. It also
keeps people aware of what is happening around, in local and international
arena, It creates a strong base of personality. Reading habit of people does
not, however, remain the same over time. Usually with the spread of literacy
and assurance of greater ease in life, reading habit follows a rising curve. On
the other hand, it may decline due to technological change and other reasons.
The reading habit of
people in this land, as elsewhere around the globe, is changing rapidly, for
better or worse. People in general are taking less interest in reading books.
They resort to other modes of pastime. They spend more time in watching TV,
browsing internet, playing computer games, listening to music in CD/DVD, etc.
They hardly earmark any time for reading in their everyday routine. Those who
have to read for profession have also changed their way of deal. Many of them
now depend on 'soft reading', i.e. reading soft materials on computer screen.
They search for necessary texts in internet and download them to be used in
classroom, examination or research. The whole scenario of reading has changed.
Decades ago the habit
of reading was pervasive. People showed real interest in collecting and reading
books. They felt proud Of possessing books, as many do nowadays in their CD/DVD
collections. Visiting library was a necessary part of life. Students used to
read fiction and poetry outside their syllabus. There was social ‘movement for
encouraging reading. Every locality had clubs which among other things kept
books for their members. There were separate libraries and reading circles as
well. There was competition among organizations for collecting books both in
quality and quantity and competition among members for reading them. It was a
healthy competition, which spawned a golden time of reading. That reading
culture is lost, now, however.
The burgeoning bustle
of life is identified as one of the main reasons for waning reading habit. Life
has been so busy that people can hardly manage time for reading. The pressure
of livelihood has mounted tremendously, thrusting people in earning bread, in
all desperations. A money-centric corporate culture is sweeping life away,
making people crazy for pomp and prosperity in the form of land, flat, car and
other amenities. Reading is a secondary concern or no concern at all. There is
no time for reading in fact. Even they cannot find time for reading newspaper.
They just skim through the headlines. They can hardly read anything with
profound concentration due to time constraint. They are always in a hurry to
finish their assignments in vocation. It is really a hard time, witnessing a famine
of reading.
Proliferation of
information technology has also contributed to the change in reading habit.
Computer technology in particular has opened up new vistas of recreation. Now
people can spend time in browsing internet. People can stay day and night in
the virtual world, moving from one website to another, and chatting with their
pals. Children and adolescents take computer games as great fun. They sometimes
get addicted to it, forgetting their school lessons. Some watch movies while
others enjoy music in computer with the facility of ROM drive. Some remain busy
with desktop PC while others with their portable laptops. This new mode of
entertainment has replaced the old VCR system, giving rise to burnt discs
business instead of cassettes. And all these developments of technology have
dampened the reading mind.
Mobile phone also takes a bulk of people's
everyday time. They talk over mobile phone every now and then as they like.
They carry the tiny device in their palms, pockets or bags and use them to call
receive calls. They also send SMS to the people they need mobile phone offers
other funs like games, audio, video and camera .Internet connectivity is also
available nowadays, which helps the mobile users to send and receive e-mail
even when they are moving. This mobile technology has exerted a negative impact
on the reading habit of the people.
After hectic day of work, when people come
back home, they seek light entertainment. Television is there to wash away
their weariness and boredom. Television demands a passive mind for the watchers.
Reading on the other hand needs active involvement of the readers—it needs
brain work. Television programmes easily stir visual and aural senses,
providing ready pleasure. Hence television is
more popular than book. Nowadays television offers numerous channels with numerous programmes. The
viewers can surf the channels to find out programmes conforming to their taste
and get engrossed in it until they retire to bed.
We can ask whether the
new generation will be dumb without suffieient reading of books. Are they going
to be intellectually crippled or bankrupt? No, the children of the new age will
be cleverer, with the blessings of new science and technology. Their
intellectual pursuit will be met in a different way. They will master new
skills to meet the challenges of the day. They will be good at computing and
other machine-based jobs. It is not entirely true that the children are reading
at all. Many may avoid creative literature but they still read specialised
literature of various disciplines. They explore technical books of every
academic subject in science, humanities and business, which have developed into
complex ramifications. They penetrate the accumulation of knowledge with more
power of brains. They are well advanced in all affairs. Special knowledge of
the previous generation has turned into
their common sense.
It is obvious that the reading habit of the
people is on the decay. It will never be regained probably. As time runs,
reading minds shift away to other preoccupations. But one thing must be
noticed. People are now reading in computer. They are collecting information
from different websites and reading them sitting before the monitor. This
tendency is increasing day by day, bringing a new dimension in the mode of
reading.
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