Topic: Reading vs. the Media

10-second review: Media is not making reading obsolete. Quote: “…the NEA study over generalized the results of reading literature to the reading of all books, noted that the NEA conclusion that media use competes with reading was not supported by other research, and posited that readers are reading media and web pages in addition to print reading and, hence, are reading differently, but are not at risk.” In short, because people are not reading literature does not mean that people are not reading.

Comment: What does “reading media” mean?

A communications graduate from Penn State told me that nobody reads stuff like Henry James any more. He’s probably right. I suspect that even in academic institutions more students are finding ways to escape from reading the classics. Their minds are the poorer, I suggest.

It’s also true that most of what appears on the Internet is read—the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, local newspapers, etc. I don’t think reading is obsolete, but reading classic literature is probably diminishing—maybe significantly. Do you know anyone who is reading the classics after a hard day on the job? That’s not a rhetorical question. Do you? RayS.