Are Books Doomed?

[darkdel]

Here's the newest stat I've found - A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids between 8 and 18 spend just 38 minutes a day with some form of print media, down from 43 minutes in 2004. That's out of a total of 7 hours and 38 minutes they spend every day using some form of media.

[ERNIE]

I thought that was an interesting and rather depressing study. Since kids often 'multitask' using 2 media at the same time, they found on average they consume the equivalent of 11 1/2 hrs worth per day. At least half reported using other media 'sometimes' or 'most of the time' while doing homework. And only 1/3 of parents put any limits or boundaries on their kids media use. I have a feeling, contrary to scifi expectations, we're raising a generation of kids that wont  be able to think  or analyze problems, and will be even more passive consumers of manufactured cable news opinions than the angry sheep that populate a lot of this country today. Oh, and about the multi-tasking, that turns out to be a crock of shit too. Another new study finds that people who multi-task dont actually perform any of the tasks well. They just think they do. Because theyre so distracted.

[John Palisano]

I can only speak of my own experiences, but I don't have to force my 3 1/2 year old to read. He loves it. Of course, he's born of parents that are readers, so he might be adopting behavior. Also, when I spent several weeks at Children's Hospital, the kids loved books and there was a book mobile going around and it was treasured above all else. I remember talking to one young girl and she told me she liked the Polar Express book because she could imagine her own stories, too.

I know I have a rather rose-tinted view on life, but I hope more kids are like Claudia and Leo, and less like the study in the future.

[Corpsebride]

I can only speak 2 my household, but my children were taught at an early age the appreciation of books. I read 2 them, we frequented our public library- still do. We enjoyed the bookstores, each choosing a book just 4 us. One of my best memories of school is of a teacher who read aloud 2 us twice a wk. Of course my kids utilize all the stuff thts available today, but reading like good manners are first learned at home. Teach your children the value of a good book, and it will last a lifetime!