Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 7, 2008 4:03:28 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Is Our Children Reading?

Posted Nov 19, 07 12:46 PM CST in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – As far as young people are concerned, books are so 20th century. Reading's popularity has fallen as gadgets have taken over modern life, according to a new National Endowment for the Arts report. Only a third of high school seniors read at a proficient level. “And proficiency is not a high standard,” the NEA’s chairman told the Boston Globe. “We’re talking about reading the daily newspaper.”

Only 30% of 13-year-olds read daily, while almost half of 18- to 24-year-olds never read for pleasure. “I was impressed and depressed” by the findings’ consistency, said chairman Dana Gioia, who blames the media for not promoting books and a flood of gadgets for cluttering leisure time. But good readers make good citizens: Bookworms participate in charity and cultural works at greater rates than nonreaders, and they're more successful in business.

Source Boston Globe

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated

    Sep 29, 08 4:39 PM CDT
    Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated Our bleak outlook on the future of reading owes itself to a doomsday reflex, the pervasive belief that things are bound to get worse, author Dave Eggers writes in Esquire. "It must be true, we think—just yesterday I saw some kid on the bus, and he wasn't reading a book!" But "few if any of these dire assumptions … are born out by any proof whatsoever." More »

  • To Turn Boys Into Readers, Gross Them Out

    Aug 8, 08 11:18 AM CDT
    To Turn Boys Into Readers, Gross Them Out Young boys, who trail far behind their female peers as readers, are reversing that trend with help from publishers who seek to exploit their love for everything gross. The Wall Street Journal examines the wave of children's’ titles rife with farts, boogers, blood, and flesh-eating bacteria—and talks with some grown-ups who don't see a problem.
    More »

  • Does Surfing Equal Reading?

    Jul 27, 08 2:34 PM CDT
    Does Surfing Equal Reading? As kids spend more time on the internet and less time reading books, a debate is raging over whether online reading is as educational as the traditional kind, the New York Times reports. While the Web allows readers to quickly gobble up multiple perspectives and information, some experts worry that the internet-obsessed are hurting their intellectual development—which they believe is demonstrated by falling test scores.
    More »

  • Search Engines: How They're Reshaping Your Brain

    Jun 11, 08 10:42 AM CDT
    Search Engines: How They're Reshaping Your Brain Although he’s thrilled with all the time he saves using the Internet for research and awed by the vast intellectual opportunities available to every web surfer, Nicholas Carr is a bit disconcerted that he no longer has the patience for reading books or long articles. With his netizen mind fidgeting and losing the thread after a few pages, Carr wonders in the Atlantic: What is the net doing to our brains? More »

  • 10 Easy Breezy Summer Reads

    May 28, 08 12:00 PM CDT
    The perfect summer read is like a breathmint: light, refreshing, and available for purchase at the airport. Cosmopolitan book editor John Searles dishes his top 10 titles  of the season to MSNBC.

    1. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: a family tell-all—from the dog’s POV
    2. The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer: a woman learns dark secrets about her husband
    More »

Miana Breed, 14, looks over the "Harry Potter" shelves during a trip to Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Raleigh, N.C., , July 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Karen Tam)   (Associated Press)
  (Shutterstock)
  (Shutterstock)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

children  • book  • reading  • literacy  • National Endowment for the Arts


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »