Introduction
With the invention of the Internet, the traditional way of reading books has changed, and many additional advantages and disadvantages appeared. With the increase in the number of new forms of entertainment, the percentage of purchased physical books has decreased (Sridhar, 2021). Reading has become an optional choice for individuals rather than a compulsory activity defining a civilized person. Consequently, the Internet era has decreased the popularity of reading even though people can find an alternative way to consume written information. People consume more information daily by scrolling through social media fields, and short information causes a dropping attention span (Sridhar, 2021). The availability of quick information makes people less interested in long texts.
Conflicts
Different types of information became easily accessible with the creation of the Internet, and the thinking process has been affected by this fact. These days people do not have to read many books to find the needed data, they can google it. However, the availability of resources has decreased the way people think and remember information (Carr, 2008). People concentrate less on remembering specific information retrieved from books to show their intellectual skills. Moreover, they might mistakenly believe that the Internet can think instead and provide reliable data. This problem may decrease the passion for learning and reading informative literature as the Internet can provide answers to many questions.
Positive Aspects
Even though some people might consider that Google makes people less educated, it brings several positive sides which support the development of innovations in the Internet era. For instance, individuals may access limited editions of their favorite books online without changing their reading habits. Moreover, some might find it more convenient to use e-books and spend less money on physical papers (Sridhar, 2021). The ability to go through a huge amount of information makes people more flexible in adjusting to particular situations. Additionally, if people do not read a lot of literature, it might not always mean they are not well educated. The Internet teaches individuals to find important data in a short period of time to save time for more efficient activities.
Recommendations
Schools and parents should pay a lot of attention to children’s reading abilities to ensure the more advanced development of societies worldwide. Parents should be role models for their kids and teach them from a young age to read books for a better attention span. They might start with short stories before sleep and follow the child’s interest. According to Rich (2008), kids might not stay interested in reading in the teenage age due to the development of internet platforms which are more entertaining for the younger generation.
However, the importance of reading should not be underestimated by a parent during the development of the technological era. Schools should give the student literature classes weekly, which support reading skills. Moreover, extracurricular readings during the summer breaks can motivate the student to receive better marks next year and stay erudite.
Conclusion
In conclusion, reading in the Internet era is becoming controversial for some individuals. On the one hand, it is not the key indicator of civilization. On the other hand, it helps develop new innovations and boost technologies worldwide. There are positive and negative sides to digitalization and its correlations with reading, and every individual forms a specific relationship to this type of entertainment which might be completely different compared to the previous generations. Consequently, parents and schools should do everything possible to preserve readings in children’s lives, but they cannot force them to build common relationships in this process.
References
Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic. Web.
Rich, M. (2008). Literacy debate: Online, r u really reading? The New York Times. Web.
Sridhar, M. S. (2021). Reading habit in the Internet era. SRELS Journal of Information Management, 58(6), 371-376. Web.