The End of Reading?

"The end of reading is here," proclaimed The Atlantic magazine. The Atlantic is not some scandal sheet or a publication that employs over-exaggeration to attract eyeballs. It is a highly respected journal that has been publishing commentary on important issues since 1857. When they make such a claim, it merits paying attention.

A recent study released by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association identifies the issue. It found that book buying in 2025 declined by 4.9 % from the previous year. It fell by 30.6% for the youngest group, 10-15 year-olds. It fell by 17.8% for those 20-29, though oddly increased by 7.7% for those age 16-19.Total spending was 9.62 billion euros vs. 9.88 billion in 2024. The trend has continued into the first half of 2026, with sales down 4.1%.

A study last year determined that reading for pleasure had declined by 40% in the United States over the previous 20 years. Jill Sonke, director of research initiatives at the University of Florida Center for Arts and Medicine, commented at the time, "It's significant, and it's deeply concerning."

What these studies and their panicked reactions are referring to is book reading. The reality is that the younger generation is doing lots of reading. They may not be reading books as much, but they are reading a lot of material online. They are reading on their cell phones and tablets. They are reading social media posts. Sure, they are watching many Tik Tok type videos, but they need to be able to read posts and comments to keep up with the culture. Each generation has its youth culture and no one wants to be left out. They need to read. They are still getting much, maybe most of their information through reading. I suspect they are more interested in reading social media posts from friends' and others than books. Nevertheless, they can't do this without the ability to read.

What may be missing is the ability to evaluate what they read, separate the wheat from the chaff, the truth from the lies, the valuable from the trash. Books, requiring much more thought and knowledge to create than a social media post, are more likely to contain valuable information, but there is no guarantee. Just as television has long been the whipping boy of those in the field of education, there are good news programs on TV, and many great programs on PBS. Occasionally, some good ones show up on commercial TV, too. The issue for books is the same as it is for TV and social media posts - does the audience know how to evaluate it, recognize truth from fiction, good arguments from bad logic? Will reading alone solve our problems, or is the issue not so much the vehicle of information as it is the quality of the information and our ability to evaluate it? Books have an advantage in that we can think over the words more carefully, reread them, think about what we have read. TV and online videos go by too quickly for contemplation. Online posts rarely carry the depth of thought within them. Still, it is not so much the vehicle as it is what the vehicle is carrying, and our ability to evaluate it. That is an even bigger issue than the format in which it is delivered.

Rare Book Monthly

The End of Reading?

Rare Book Monthly

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The End of Reading?

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