Why young people are reading less

We often think that today's young generation is more promiscuous and irresponsible than yesterday's, that it is less concerned and more selfish. This is how our parents thought of us, this is how our grandparents thought of our parents...

If indeed each new generation since the world began has fewer values than the last, then the present world should have been at least morally destroyed by now. And is it really so? Have human values become less and less "valuable" since the Roman era, through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, to the present day, and we are going downhill? Hardly. It's just that the world is changing. Some changes are good, some not so much, but we can't blame "the young" for that.

We were educated in the values of Yordan Yovkov's stories, we cried with Karl May's heroes, we dreamed of meeting real heroes like Vinetu and Otseola. For today's children, these names are unknown or misunderstood. Young people today spend most of their time in front of the computer, not over books. The hectic lifestyles of their parents, the stress we are all subjected to on a daily basis, also predetermine their preference for what appeals to them. And that seems to be movies, games and even books that have more action, 'action, things happening fast and breakneck.

For one thing, today's generation is more aware and informed about the things that are going on in our world. The information from television and the Internet that floods children makes them 'up to date' with all the major world trends, news and events. Most young people in Bulgaria today are doing decently well with the English language, something that was much rarer in the past. But can information "online" replace the feel and pleasure of a worthwhile book?

Children today are less literate than their peers of the previous generation. Not reading enough books deprives them of the ability to think, to develop their imagination, to express their opinions reasonably, to try to reasonably and calmly convince their interlocutor of their position... In the modern consumerist society we live in, they are looking for the quick and easy way to get the information they need.

Today's young people know a lot more about the world, new technologies, fashion trends and the personal lives of all the celebrities known and unknown in the world and in our country. Many of them can quote the lyrics from the songs of a bunch of folkstars, but they can't say a single poem by Botev or Vazov, for example. But what they lack most from not reading enough books is the ability to actually communicate with people.

From books one learns how to communicate with others - to understand their problems, their pain, their discontent. Human life is not only struggling with daily problems, running errands, moving. Human life is a string of many relationships with other people and it is these that bring the most misunderstandings. For the world is undeniably changing and evolving - but new technologies, modern and increasingly advanced computers, cannot replace the need for normal human communication and mutual understanding.

"All problems in life come from misunderstandings between people - at work, with teachers, with friends, in the family. Books are where a young person can learn this - to understand themselves, to understand others, and thus to overcome the problems and differences they encounter with people."

Books can enrich young people with the wide palette of values and emotions one can feel - understanding and respect for others' pain, respect for human genius, intelligence, talent, compassion for others' pain, tolerance for those different from us. It is in books that children can meet worthy "heroes" worth emulating and from whom they can take something.

Unfortunately, it is hard to force a young person to read. The desire must be provoked so that he himself feels this need and reaches for the book. Neither parents nor teachers are capable of this. And reading out of obligation does not solve this problem.

Is there a way to get children to spend more time over books, or let things flow naturally. Or, perhaps, we adults are wrong, still believing in idealized images and values that we rarely find in our commercial, fast-paced, and increasingly selfish world. Or maybe, we adults should learn from children and try to adapt to the real world where "good", unfortunately, does not always win.