Tendencies in Reading

In recent times reading has declined, for a number of reasons. Five possible reasons for this decline were studied and four turned out to be valid:

- the rise in the number of people with complex and burdensome daily responsibilities;

- competition from other leisure activities;

- the excessive supply of reading material;

- a shift from reading to television viewing.

Prospects

What are the prospects for reading in modern times? Unlike reading for pleasure, the functional use of texts appears to be facing no problems. This raises the question of whether this functional use will compensate for the decline in reading for pleasure. In the `information society’, whose impending arrival can no longer be ignored, will people use their reading skills most for the purposes of work and study, or for recreation and consumption? People are likely to read more from a screen than from a printed page in the future.

This development is part of a technological society in which speed, effectiveness and innovation are highly prized. The use of sophisticated combinations of images, sound and text is still in its infancy. However, the publishing industry is hard at work converting information in text form into multimedia formats (including CD-ROM and CD-i), particularly reference works and instructions.

It is difficult to say at this stage whether further expansion of multimedia will have the same impact as the advent of television. The innovations that have been introduced since then (colour TV, games computers, video recorders, PCs, CD images) has brought the television monitor and electronic wizardry deeper and deeper into our lives. Viewed in this light, the new applications are more a continuation of a trend than something entirely new.

Reading appears to have declined among each successive cohort, under the influence of the changes that have already occurred in this area. The fact that we still do read for pleasure on a large scale is largely due to the fact that, as they grow older, people tend to read more. If this effect of age continues, the latest graduates from secondary and higher education, once they reach the age of thirty, will also read more, although not as much as previous generations did on reaching that age. Up to now, people have also tended to read more at the next stage of their life, when they have retired and their children have left home. The baby boomers will reach this stage over the next decade. Their huge numbers will increase the positive effect, but whether this will counterbalance the negative impact of multimedia, task combination and diversification of leisure pursuits is difficult to say. However, it is unlikely that reading for pleasure will return to the level it enjoyed in the early seventies (when it was subject to fewer negative effects).

The traditional presentation of information and culture therefore attracts most interest among middle-aged people with higher than average education. However, people who read a great deal, attend performances and museums watch less television on average (all other factors being equal) than people who do not participate in culture. One might say that, once television had become the norm, everyone flooded to that particular supermarket. The main difference does not concern the use of that supermarket as such, but the fact that one group buys virtually everything at the supermarket, while the others go to specialist shops.

Can the decline be stopped?

Education has always been regarded as an essential prerequisite for an expansion of the reading public. However, reading has declined most among the younger sections of the population, who have had many years of education. An extensive system of public libraries and other encouragements to read have also failed to halt the decline. Without them, the decline would probably have been greater, but this would mean that facilities like this have merely slowed down this trend, rather than halting it. Can ways be found for cultural policy to help in an area where even education and libraries have failed?

It has to be admitted that the most likely causes of the decline in reading fall outside the scope of cultural policy. The first three factors examined (task combining, diversification of leisure pursuits and the overproduction of reading matter) all point to an ambitious and extremely active cultural pattern. People with a high level of education, in particular, fill their time with a wider variety of activities than their counterparts with a similar background from a generation ago. People now play a much wider variety of roles both at work and in their free time.

The overproduction of reading and printed material is another indication that culture is extremely broadly manifested in our society.

Some moderation in each of these areas would probably benefit reading. This is all the more applicable to the fourth factor; cutting down on the supply of television broadcasts would undoubtedly help.

In the current climate, it seems highly unlikely that the government should intervene in any of these areas for the sake of reading. Such a move would constitute a violation of the individual’s and the culture industry’s freedom to act as they see fit, and this too is highly prized.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-16