Are they reading?

As time goes on children and teens have more and more technological devices beeping at them and reminding them that they haven't checked a status or posted one in... GASP... 2 minutes? Along with school, extracurricular activities, and other daily "to-do's" where does reading fit in? Not in many places it seems! 

According to Common Sense Media the number of teens and children that read for pleasure has greatly decreased - to one to two times a year. It is funny to think that one of my greatest pleasures in life is reading and for some it isn't even a factor for enjoyment. Sometimes one of the only things there is that can save a stressful day is reading a couple of pages of that one book (or twenty) that are resting on your night stand. 

When thinking back to when I was a teen I didn't have much time for reading. I was naturally over scheduled just by being a student with one or two extra curricular activities. Although it is not proven that online socializing is a cause of this decrease it is being thought of as a factor in this drastic drop. As time went on I was able to read more of what I wanted to read and not what was assigned to me in school. Anything that even remotely resembles homework can be a deterrent to enjoying whatever it is and sometimes reading is the victim. Let's stay strong librarians! Maybe by introducing our teens to something like GoodReads they can mix their socializing and book reading? Plus it will post right to Facebook if they want. Now they can read a book for pleasure and then it automatically becomes a status update! That sounds like killing two birds with one stone to me.

Here are links to the two articles!

Why Aren't Teens Reading Like They Used To?

U.S. children read, but not well or often: report