What is wrong with reading?
I can’t help noticing that reading can cause a strange
reaction in public places.
For example, at the workplace, or the bus stop, I sit in my
free time and open a book. I have often been met with stares close to
disapproval and even questions, like ‘what
are you doing that for?’
Yet I know if I was to
instead take out my mobile phone and read on that, it would be suddenly much
more ‘acceptable’, no cause for difference. These days, a book-reader can be
quickly characterised as ‘eccentric’ and ‘old fashioned’ which seems odd
considering books are an essential basis for exploration, as well as knowledge.
Snobbishness is not necessarily a factor associated with a
certain class elite. A possible definition from the OED includes ‘a person who
believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other
people’(1) – and reading is a prime example of an area where this behaviour
occurs. Snobbery can occur at all levels, from the upper-class being assumed to
‘have
all read Wodehouse’ and headlines as
blatant as ‘rich
people only read self-improvement books’ , to a recent example of a young survey correspondent saying ‘Books are
for an older generation, younger people on the whole do not read books(2).’
Assumptions and separations of groups of people regarding reading as a whole I
believe need to be challenged in order to make reading accessible to all.
The varying attitude to books reveals some of the prejudices
we have towards reading – and something we all need to evaluate for ourselves.
Divide between 'readers' and 'watchers'
What is more acceptable about a mobile phone or screen than
a book? A screen provides us with a
paradox, it is a private device often
the owner can only see at the time of use – whether they are browsing
the internet, tapping away on Twitter, messaging friends, the list goes on. Yet
whilst in one sense it is private, in another sense, it is a kind of public
affirmation of a ‘busy’ life. People look ‘connected’ when they are using a mobile
phone for example, and this can communicate an image of a larger life outside
the immediate circumstance – they have so much more ‘going’ on. It is a
‘screen’ in more than one sense of the word; it can be used to project a
picture, as well as to hide behind. In contrast, a book is more insular. It
doesn’t necessarily say anything about the individual’s connections, or social
life. It is public in another sense though, as the spine of a book acts like a
kind of confession – ‘this is what I like to read’. People might be ashamed of
reading books in public, for example, there is a pervasive judgement amongst
some reading circles that some kind of literature is just ‘trashy’. I don’t
think this is helpful.
In the age of pressure to ‘keep connected’ are books and
reading falling by the wayside? The BBC have termed the situation as a ‘divide
between readers and watchers’(3) – and this a segregation which I believe needs
to be stopped.
The above exploration of books and technology in contrast is
just one example of where divides lie. Another is in the form of age - as older
people appear less likely to engage with electronic reading material than
younger people. Not only are older
people less likely than younger people to have accessed online material, they
also make less frequent use of it according to research by the Nominee Trust, as
whilst amongst 55-64 year olds the figure for home internet access is 69%, this falls to 51% for 65-74 year-olds and
then only 23% for those over 75. (Ofcom,
2010)(4). This means that many older people may be in position where they are
missing out on reading material – with
some publications only exclusively online. This is in contrast to younger generations, with up to 97% of primary school-age children saying they have access to electronic devices
and the internet at home according to
The National Literary Trust(5). In actuality, it is suggested that children
were more likely to read online electronic material than print – with 68.7%
reporting reading on a screen, compared to 61.8% in print. Not only do there
appear divisions in the way people read according to age, but also in enjoyment
of it – as more than half of the children surveyed by The National Literary
Trust said they preferred to read on screen rather than paper.
Yet the state of preferring one method over the other –
placing electronic print and hard print in a hierarchy - is what needs to be
addressed. As may be unexpected, I am not going to start decrying e-books as a
cause of unhealthy reading habits; actually they can be incredibly helpful.
Want I want to uphold is an attitude to reading like endorsed attitudes to food
– a balanced diet with variety. Why gorge on one form when you can try
different flavours?
Age is no object
In incorporating and
encouraging a balanced, interchangeable use of electronic and hard print,
research
shows the potential negative impact of
screen devices on sleep, whilst books have beneficial effect(7). In
this sense, reading books appears to hold a relaxing quality which is also
enjoyable, and this extends to children – with children who incorporated a
combination of print and electronic reading reporting greater enjoyment than
screen- only users(8).
Therefore, the benefits of reading across devices should
be celebrated across age. Because it is
reading which matters – the essential method of taking in information,
interacting with narratives, acquiring information and ultimately, appreciating
one’s own personal space. The personal benefits appear to extend beyond
too, with a recent online issue of the Neurology
journal highlighting that those who
engaged in reading both earlier and
later in life experienced a slower
decline in memory, with improved social function and stress-reducing benefits
frequently cited too.
What is essential to see, is that whether it is book or
device, what we hold in our hands is a capacity to learn and explore; and this shouldn’t
be undervalued. Although I am a book lover, I think it is time to stop decrying
the electrification of books, but this does not mean I am supporting the
decline of hard print.
That both young and older people are missing out on opportunities
to read needs to be considered. For example, whilst some younger people ignore
books in favour of the internet, some members of the older generation may read
books, but be missing out on reading content they would find highly
interesting, on a computer device. That some works are only now released in e-book
format, whilst others are exclusively in print form, highlights the need for a
balance here. It is enjoying both physical and electronic books which can open
up opportunities for furthering reading. Encouraging people, young and old, to engage
across a variety of mediums can significantly enhance the amount of information
they are exposed to and can learn from.
 |
| 'When you were young / And your heart was an open book' |
Lack of engagement with reading, or only
associating with certain methods of it, can obstruct our opportunities.
Did you resent electronic library check-outs?
Libraries are potential places where the best of print as well as electronic can be brought to
the people. A library which matters a great deal to me is Manchester Central
Library, re-opened in 2014 following restoration to the neo-classical building.
Inside now hosts a variety of interactive technologies which quickly engage
public attention, including touchscreen tables, timelines and boards. My initial
reaction to this seemed, in retrospect – tainted with an element of reading snobbery
– ‘screens, not books, how is this a
library?’ and ‘It just isn’t the same.’ But perhaps that is the lesson which needs to be learned –
reading isn’t going to remain ‘the
same’, it is evolving. What ultimately
matters is that both books and technology are celebrated as part of that. After
all, take a quick walk up the steps in The Manchester Central, to quickly
encounter the beauty of the historic Wolfson Reading Room with its enigmatic
domed ceiling. Around the dome reads an inscription from the book of Proverbs,
part of which in translation is ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore
But the snobbishness can emerge even when we don’t like to admit it.
Were you one of the people who decried the bringing of
electronic methods of ‘stamping’ books at the library – ‘Why it is all machines
now?’: or something along those lines (?) – I know I was. The reduction of
staff contact and instead mechanisation is a personal loss, and obviously sad.
But with libraries under increasing pressure, and the technological check-outs
potentially saving time and money, I would rather have these new features in
libraries than no libraries at all. This loss of the personal can be regained
in other ways through the right means – placing emphasis on how a range of
material can enhance the individual as well as their interaction with others.
After all, a recent YouGov survey highlighted that almost
half the population, approximately 47%, have used a public library within the
past year(10). This figure holds great promise and could be even higher if the
sense of accessibility is increased. The acceptance of new ways of reading is
part of this, and something I have paid more attention to myself. With at least 400 libraries potentially threatened
by a 10% cut in budgets for local government between 2015/16(11) – it is essential
that those open can encourage people to use them; and if this is through a
cost-effective combination of books with technological investment then let it
be so. In libraries, the older generation can encounter the new too, and
vice-versa for the young. In my family alone, I know many older people who have
gained experience in using and reading on computers in the local library,
whilst a library space provides an environment where books are perhaps more of
a ready prospect for young people too; as when displayed and free to borrow,
their accessibility is enhanced.
Reading into the issue of class
I also think one of the reasons why ‘displays’ of reading,
therefore often books, can create such a
negative response, is the unfortunate social assumption that the reader is
making some kind of statement. They are gaining knowledge, and in some cases,
seen as making a gain on others. The
research on apparent class divides in reading books (thus another divide) shows
why this may be the case too - 62% of ABs read daily or weekly (upper and
middle classes, according to NRS social grading system) compared with 42% of DE’s (categorised as
lower in the class spectrum)(12). Therefore, you are potentially more likely to
see a person of greater class status reading
than someone of lesser class status(13). It is interesting to consider how this
may colour perceptions on those who read, and may even discourage some from reading
as they have come to associate it with a certain stereotype. This suggests that reading is at risk of
becoming not only an age and tech-segregated activity, but
also subject to class segregation. Whilst 85% of ABs cited reading as making them feel good, only
69% of DEs reported a similar benefit;
emphasizing differing class perspectives on the enjoyment of
reading. Therefore it is important that
the different methods of reading (and
the enjoyment they bring) is advocated across society – and a combination of
print and electronic surely enhances the accessibility of reading material.
Whilst it was found in the same DJS Research for Booktrust that ABs on average own double the amount of books than DEs,
the encouragement of reading across a
range of material surely makes ‘ownership’ less of an issue and not as acquisition-orientated, which can
cause further socio-economic tensions in the class divide.
There are so many ways to view the text, but we don’t know
how to view reading - it is full of divisions.
In turn, prejudice and divides seem to run through our
reading behaviour. I have been guilty of a kind of prejudice myself, especially
towards e books. It is easy to resent change, especially in the way we take in
information, and reading is our personal method of doing so. Yet accepting this
change is possibly one of the best things we can do – as technology changes, workplace
demand changes, the internet evolves, writer emerge with new views, the ways we
are expected to take in information for people to succeed will change too. I
want to celebrate the range of ways people can read, and encourage variety
within that.
So although we may be quick to blame electronic books,
perhaps the real problem and unfortunate tension, is that many still do not
read at all. It is estimated that nearly
a fifth (18%) of people never read
physical books, and 71% never read e-books (14) – so it is not the case either
of ‘e-books killing reading’ as is
argued by some. However, the accessibility of hard print does need to be addressed,
with A fifth (20%) of these involved in
the survey saying that they never buy physical books at all (in a shop or
online). Reading seem quashed by the ‘connected’ life, not
that in electronics kill print, but that reading is superfluous – or more of a
challenge, a slow-burner, compared to the instant information we so often
expect. Whilst television, video and games for example are fast-moving, reading
is a gradual process, the unfolding of
events – but this is often more accurate
to life, where concentration is a highly-valued asset.
It's not The End
That 36% of people often take up a book but get bored and a
similar percentage say they cannot find the time to read, emphasizes that a
revitalised social attitude to reading should be encouraged. Rather than split between age, the camps of
electronic and print – people should be made aware of the variety of reading
material available, and how they can utilise a range of resources to find
material they find interesting. Let us silence the type of snobbery which has pervaded
reading for so long; accessible for some and not to others. I’d urge anyone to
take even just to take the time to think about how they read and consider the new
prospects on offer – especially through libraries. Because rather than reading
as something to ‘find time’ for, it actually gives time in itself – time for
self-reflection, relaxing and with a sheer number of those who read saying it
improves their life and makes them feel good; it is something we should all strive
to get involved in.
(1)
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/snob
(2)
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/usr/library/documents/main/1576-booktrust-reading-habits-report-final.pdf
(4)
https://www.nominettrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/NT%20SoA%20-%20Ageing%20and%20the%20use%20of%20the%20internet_0.pdf
(5)
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0002/3898/Ebooks_lit_review_2014.pdf
(6)
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/digital-home/how-much-screen-time-is-healthy-for-children-benefits-3520917/
(7)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/5070874/Reading-can-help-reduce-stress.html
(8)
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~smith/Unpubs/mwera94_1.pdf
(9)
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessmentpisa/33690904.pdf
(11)http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jul/12/library-campaigners-1000-closures-2016
(12)http://d69fra.org/family-life-articles/184-lack-of-reading-skills-a-potential-recipe-for-disaster-for-our-children
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