Books are the quietest and most
constant of friends;they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors,and
the most patient of teachers,”said renowned American academic Charls
W.Eliot.Even he wouldn’t have imaginedthat in less than 100 years,his words
would be used as a motivational tool to encourage the youth to pick up reading
as a habit.in our fast-paced world, people are distancing themselves from
reading books,because they have other options,like watching movies,eating out or
simply doing nothing !
There is no harm in indulding in any of these,like movies since it relaxes the
viewers and manages to divert peoples attension from the tension of the
day.however, it fails to provide a whole-some learning experience which books
provide.those belonging to the previous generation believe that one of the main
difference between them and the current crop is that of being resourceful, and,
contrary to the popular belief,books are still the best source in the
internet-dominated world.
Experts believe that “can’t read” is not the problem here,rather it’s “won’t
read” .the likely culprits for this offence are television, movies and the
internet.while people used to visit libraries to search for the information in
the past,they now turn to the websites like wikipedia and search engine like
google.they do not realize that all this available on the world wide web is not
authentic,hence,should not be accepted as a final word or on face value.
A steep decline in reading among youngsters means that by the time they will
become adults,those who have reada novel will be outnumbered by those who
haven’t.how can this generation fit reading into their busy schedule?they have
to watch tv,brows the internet,go for soccer practice,play video games and,once
in a while,finish their homework.
Mark twain must have foreseen the future when he said,”the man who does not read
good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”yet we are
growing into a nation where those who cant read are as large in number as are
the once who haven’t read good books.
It isn’t too late,and the dying habit of readind can still be revived.however,it
will be a daunting task when in the future people “won’t read”,as opposed to
those who “can’t read.”