Death of Reading, Part I
by Shafeeq Ahmed

The Art of Reading is dying.

The Art of Reading: reading for its own sake; reading for the delight of reciting beautifully crafted prose or poetry;
 reading for the elation one feels when words alone stir your senses and fill your heart with passionate appreciation 
for the written language and fill your mind with lasting imagery.


REGRESSION OF READING

Reading has completed a full circle in its evolution: it's returned to its original function as a method to decipher
written words or symbols to extract a meaning or to understand the communication contained within the symbols. 
At some point in Civilization's infancy, the human spirit realized and valued the power and splendor of the written
word, which could not only be used to communicate and educate, but could also serve as an endless source of 
entertainment. Unfortunately, reading has regressed to its simpler, primary intent in our technology-driven society.

When asked, the average person plainly and boldly tells you that they "don't have the time" to read anything that 
doesn't directly pertain to their education, work, or provide immediate gratification, such as newspapers and 
magazines. This is clearly evident in the publishing industry's great reliance on periodical and textbooks sales, and 
its laissez-faire attitude towards publishing and distributing poetry and fictional literature. 

The only times we find ourselves reading are when we are left without any other form of distraction, such as 
during a commute or while serving jury duty. However, when asked about their TV viewing habits, the average 
person will admit to "spending too much time" watching television. This is evident in the ever-increasing number 
of new TV stations and programming that sprout up each year.


SOCIAL PERCEPTION OF READING

The contradiction of too little time for reading and too much time spent watching TV is not necessarily a reflection 
of people's delusions of how much free time they do or don't have, but serves more as an indication of how reading
 is perceived by society as a whole. As most people attend some level of schooling during their lifetime, the act of 
reading is mentally associated with formalized education, which is symbolic of the loftier notions of acquiring and 
testing intelligence. The effect of this psychological connection is twofold: students that receive poor grades during 
their schooling turn away from reading, as it is another means of identifying one's ignorance, and inevitably, one's 
weaknesses; students that receive satisfying grades in school will not abandon reading altogether, but simply rely 
on it to achieve a specific goal, generally to gather information. 

The fact that pleasure can be derived from reading, this "laborious task," is lost on most people nowadays, as the 
only forms of entertainment we are comfortable with are of the passive kind. 

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