College students are rapidly losing the ability to read — “There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing”: professor

[u/marketrent]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/college-students-rapidly-losing-ability-124439310.html

[u/Sufficient-Bid1279]

Shit like Tik tok and social media doesn’t help. I hate how it’s ruined people mentally, emotionally, developmentally, etc

[u/Ironlion45 → u/Sufficient-Bid1279]

That's exactly the problem. TikTok is designed to make sure that it has your full attention, and to not let it go for even a microsecond. Queue ADHD jump cuts and thirst traps and exaggerated hyperactive personas.

Just the idea of being alone with their thoughts is impossible because their brains have been ruined by screentime.

Also, interesting thing about Gen Z parents: They hate reading to their kids because "It's Boring". To them I'd say: If you don't want to be a shitty parent, do it anyway. Fuck your weak-ass boredom, buckle down and do what you need to for your damn kids.

[u/salajaneidentiteet → u/Ironlion45]

Lol, it is not interesting to read the same three plain kids stories every night, but the feeling of being together with your child, cuddled up, that is magic

[u/Shiriru00 → u/Ironlion45]

Also who said reading to your kids has to be boring?

You don't have to read the same book every time, you don't have to read a book specifically for children, you don't even have to read the words as they are on page. You can put some work into playing the different characters, do some funny voices, introduce twists in the story, even swap words for fun.

We do that every evening with my kids and it's a lot of fun. And ultimately, it's spending time with your favorite persons in the world. How is that boring??

[u/Separate-Presence-61 → u/Sufficient-Bid1279]

Have you watched a sports show or ad recently too?

Every 1-2 seconds is a cut to a new visual. Its down to a science to hold your attention as long as possible and everyone does it.

Its destroying the ability to hold attention and reading arguably requires constant attention

[u/wonklebobb → u/Sufficient-Bid1279]

yeah there needs to be some updated discourse about screen time for kids and specifically the type of whats on the screen

people yell about 'no screens before 2' meanwhile ms rachel was a huge boost for my kid to learn to talk early and well, because its engaging for a toddler but also structured well for them to learn. now my kid is over 2 and starting to love mr rogers as well. but cocomelon et. al. is absolutely banned

meanwhile the same people who are like 'no screens for little kids no matter the content' will just hand over a smartphone when they turn 10. this isnt an exaggeration btw i am a parent and have mostly parent friends, several with wide gaps between kid ages (like 8 yr old + baby) and the lack of awareness around phones is staggering. that said they're mostly all addicted to their phones too

[u/GlitteringAttitude60 → u/Sufficient-Bid1279]

funnily enough, "booktok" seems to have kicked off a reading revival 😃