The Rise Of Technology, The Downfall Of Books

Image from: https://www.businessroundtable.org/why-reading-matters-and-what-to-do-about-it

Technology has touched various aspects of our lives, from the health sector to education, agriculture, clothing and textiles, food industry, communication, science and technology, manufacturing industry and so on. In fact, technology has virtually affected every facets of our lives whether positively or negatively.

But with the advent of technology, the reading culture has changed overtime and print books are being replaced by softcopy books, ebooks, audio books, PDF books, epub books, etc.

Image from: https://bilingualkidspot.com/2017/10/19/benefits-importance-reading-young-children/

Growing up, our household was filled with print media (newspapers, magazines) every weekend. I will always recall with fond memories my dad going out of his way on Saturday mornings to buy newspapers, bring it home and give it to us to read and ask questions later on what we read. I could recall my very young self at age 15 arguing about politics with my dad, or discussing about things I read in the newspaper that was far more advanced than my young mind. It was one of the experiences that shaped me to be who I am today, it increased my love for books and reading. Those moments created memories with my dad and gave us another reason to bond.

I could recall those moments at age 13, I'd pick up Shakespeare's books and any other books with grammars I couldn't comprehend and each time, my mum and dad were there to answer my questions. My dad would buy me dictionaries (though I lost them often and he always threatened not to buy another one but he buys it anyway each time I lose a dictionary ☺😌) and a notebook to look up difficult words and jot them down in the notebook for easy remembrance. This improved my vocabulary development.

Image from: https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/barbershop-books-wants-help-young-black-boys-become-readers

To me, books were and are still are my world. It's a world that enthralls me every time no matter how many times I opened that world. It was a means of escape where I could get lost without being disappointed. Books were my friends even in the midst of crowds.

Holding a book to me is like hugging a dear friend. The smell of books bring comfort.
It is sad to note that mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets have replaced the values of books for most youngsters in this generation. Video games, phone games, movies, songs that encourages bad behaviours, social media have usurped the reading culture. Parents themselves don't even have the time to inculcate the habits of reading in their children as they themselves are hooked with the tentacles of technology. Instead of creating memories with their children, they'd rather create memories on Facebook, Instagram, etc.

As individuals, let us encourage reading and also start the children young about books, the joys of reading, the experiences you get when you read, and the knowledge you gain from reading.

Let us start the reading culture again.
Let books be on the rise again and be on par with technology.