Are we losing the taste for reading?

Day 37

About 20 years ago, on a Maryland transportation authority bus I remember seeing the sign “Baltimore: The City that reads.” When I saw the sign, somewhere in my heart it was a proud moment because I belonged to a knowledgeable Baltimore community. There were signs from Barnes and Nobles celebrating Baltimore and the strong readership. Recently in my personal research I have found out a pictorial article or media news has higher viewership in comparison rather than standard news article. Many of the upcoming literature are focused in obtaining an interactive format with the help of media for example ITunes Books, Media player supplements in college syllabus, etc. In the recent decade many newspapers have reported a decline in the readership and circulations.

So here is my question: Are we losing the taste for reading?

In the era of social networking, hundreds of media presentation, smart phones, texting and many more distractions, how much of time do we spend in research what happens around us? Has Facebook or Twitter become the new media newscast? What is the time we spend reading on a weekly average? Is the younger generation displaying increasing attention disorder to standard text books or new paper articles? 

Regardless of the fact that academic institutions do not approve a Wikipedia reference, have they become the first source of reference for us now? Internet has become one of the strongest sources of information both accurate and inaccurate. Search engines like Yahoo and Google will display the most researched topics or trending articles and the results normally includes the celebrated personalities. Why don’t the most research criteria display articles like CNN News, MSN Money, ABC News, and many more news centers? Why does the people don’t want to know what is happening around them, better investment options, improving personal attributes, and many more? 

“The only part of the human body that never gets full is the brain, so then why restrain fueling the brain with the supply of knowledge?”

~Lenji Jacob