Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Social media has contributed to falling number of readers

It is good to see the articles “Yes to books; no to lattes and the Internet” (Aug 11) and “Reading finally has its day” (July 30). There is little doubt about their importance.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp
Manoraj Rajathurai

It is good to see the articles “Yes to books; no to lattes and the Internet” (Aug 11) and “Reading finally has its day” (July 30). There is little doubt about their importance.

Reading a book should come as naturally as night follows day. Nothing beats such a deceptively leisurely exercise that opens the mind to infinite possibilities.

It is never too late in life to pick up the habit if one has not already, which is why I am disturbed that the number of people truly reading is down.

Social media is one of the distractions; it encourages skimming and being cursory, which does not help to discipline the mind and get it to focus.

It was different for those who grew up in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Reading was a way of life and we valued books, for they helped us in our development and to experience life beyond our little world.

So I amassed a collection of books, including some from the late 1800s and early 1900s, which are practically impossible to obtain today, as many are now out of print. These retain an intrinsic value that cannot be measured monetarily.

I am convinced that the day the physical book becomes obsolete, we might not be far away from losing our humanity, sanity and even the right to exist. Life would be empty without reading.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.