“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies; the man who never reads only one.” This famous quote of George Martin may no longer hold relevance in its true sense for today’s children.
Yes, the age of hunting through dusty library shelves for books has now been replaced by quick searches on the internet. “It’s more convenient and time saving. The world is just a click away. So the time I would spend on going to a library and picking up a book can be reduced by a click,” says Ayush, a Class V student of Heritage School in NCR.
No doubt, technology saves time and effort. But at the same time, it hits hard the physical reading habits of children, who now prefer relying more on technology to access several resources at the click of a mouse.
Less is globally more
Reading less is now a global phenomenon, and it has gripped India as well, according to child psychologists.
“Reading of books is now a passe. Voracious readers cutting across all ages increasingly prefer e-books over hard copies. And today’s children are also no exception. Parents are to be blamed too. These days, you will hardly find parents reading a book with their kids at bedtime,” says Dr Soma Seth, a child psychologist based in Gurgaon.
Supportive researches
It may be mentioned here that a research published by the National Literacy Trust in the UK in 2020 reportedly found that today’s children “read less frequently than any previous generation and enjoy reading less than young people did in the past”.
A similar study by the American Institutes for Research in the US a couple of years back also found that “kids are reading less and enjoying reading less”. The reasearch reportedly attributed the worrying trend among children mostly to distraction “by their digital devices”.
In India, then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in November 2019 expressed his anguish over the dwindling book-reading habit, especially among the youth and kids. He had called upon the schools to inculcate the practice of reading from an early age.
“Reading books, especially stories, is no longer the norm. Children prefer watching videos online,” Naidu had said at the 21st North East Book Fair in 2019 organised by the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association in Guwahati.
Possible solutions
Naidu, in his address, had urged schools to organise reading workshops to help develop the reading habit among kids. “Books have the power to stir our creativity and stimulate innovative and inventive ideas.”
Referring to the critical role played by the library movement in different parts of the country, the Vice President had also called for keeping the legacy of library movement alive. “I strongly believe that for the society to benefit from books, there is a need to have one library per village.”
Schools agree. “We have a small library in our school and intend to soon expand it. The idea of holding reading workshops is brilliant. We will soon decide on this,” says SK Rathore, the principal of Little Trots in Gurgaon.
Gift a book
“It’s very important for parents not to give mobile phones to their wards until they attain the age of 18. Instead they can gift their kids a book every month. Mobile phone is a necessity but shouldn’t become a bane for children. Staying glued to screens can actually do harm to them than good from an early age,” sums up Dr Seth.