I Put My Book Down and Forgot How to Pick it Back Up: Have We Lost The Ability to Read?
As a society, it is deeply concerning that scrolling has become easier than reading a book. In an age where instant gratification is provided by the dopamine hit of Instagram Reels, TikTok and scrolling on X (Twitter), have we totally neglected our beloved books and lost the capability to read?
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I often think about how much I used to read as a child. My Mother loved to read, and I was hooked in the same way that she was. My vast collection of Gwyneth Rees (Fairy Treasure, Fairy Dreams) and Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), and of course the Rainbow Magic books written by a collective of individuals under the pseudonym Daisy Meadows...these were my treasured possessions, my vessels to take me to amazing new worlds. Growing up in a home where I did not have a laptop or Wi-Fi access until I started secondary school, aged 11, I was either playing outside in the field, begging to watch Madagascar (2005) or The Secret Garden (1993) for the 100th time, or I was upstairs in my bedroom falling into a fantastical realm far away from my village.
Thinking back on this time in my life when I was much younger, without my iPhone, I found I had an attention span that would continue on and on until I was told to put my lights out for bed; even when I was in my teenage years, books still held a hugely strong grip over me. Obsessing over Twilight et al - thank you Stephenie Meyer! Discovering classics that I could not put down; The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Little Women and Jane Eyre. I look back on this obsession, this once all-consuming passion for reading and being engrossed in a novel until I could hardly keep my eyes open. I had to ask myself...what has happened? Is it just me? Is society as we know it loosing themselves in their brain rot, the hellscape that is the smartphone, the iPad, the television... Is it impossible to put everything down and focus on the humble paperback, the hardback edition of Wuthering Heights that you were given for your birthday 5 years ago? Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, maybe even a newspaper or your local indie magazine, can we read any more? I have decided to find out by interviewing a select group of individuals to hear their thoughts on whether we have lost the ability to read as a society and what this looks like for the younger generation.
I asked a group of individuals, all varying in age, gender and location, what is your relationship like with reading? Have you got a good relationship with books, or do you find yourself reaching for your phone more often than not? J, Somerset answered “I have always had a positive relationship with reading. Growing up I would constantly be reading fiction, as well as falling asleep to audiobooks on mythology or fairy tales.” he continues by saying “I feel that my reading rate slowed in my early 20s, replaced for a while with TV and then by compulsory reading from university, the latter really reduced my motivation to read ... if I am enjoying a book then my relationship with my phone doesn’t impact my reading, however if I am not that invested in the book then my gosh, I can’t stop myself from twitching for that phone dopamine.”
In response to the same question E, London says “I think my relationship with my reading is better than some of my peers, but admittedly that is a fairly low bar.” she continues on to say “I do find that even when I sit down with a book my attention lapses and I end up on my phone ... sitting down to read feels like more of an ‘event’ and somehow less relaxing. However, when I do sit down to read, I often think why I don’t do it more often.” - both opinions fall into a similar category of, we like reading, but it feels like a chore. The National Literacy Trust has noted as of 2025 that “Only 1 in 5 (18.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they read daily, again, the lowest levels since 2005.”
Society has been significantly shifting away from reading, so it seems, not due to the lack of desire to read, but our brains are so used to instant 1-minute doses of entertainment that the prospect of reading could be deemed an exhausting chore. I go on to ask do you think our society has lost enjoyment from reading or are we lazy? E, London: “I think it’s not so much laziness as it is us being so accustomed to instant gratification which is exactly what our phone gives us. I think there is still an appetite for reading but it has lessened as other forms of entertainment have become easily accessible.” L, Bristol writes in disagreement that society is lazy and says, “I wouldn’t use the word lazy, but I think the shift to digital media consumption can be largely attributed to our acclimatisation to the instant dopamine hit our phones provide.” She continues “I think many of us associate reading with work, potentially due to academic requirements, or work that mandates us to slog over boring pages of text. As a result, we search for alternative sources of entertainment.” L, Bedminster “I think that society has both lost its enjoyment for reading and are also just becoming lazier. Everything we have and see becomes easier with social media and AI, so people don’t bother reading books.”
Thirdly, I wanted to know: Is social media the primary factor reducing our capacity for deep, focused reading, or are other influences equally significant? E, London “Social media, in particular TikTok, has reduced our attention spans massively. We are so used to getting instant dopamine hits from social media that reading just feels like a chore.” J, Somerset says “I think generally assuming people read journals and articles online is too broad, people often just read headlines or informatics on Instagram. I think social media has a hugely detrimental impact on reading ability as well as critical thinking.”
L, Bedminster writes “I think that social media has a part in our ability to read, although there are positives, most young people now still look for information via TikTok or Instagram rather than reading an article simply as it’s shorter and summarised.” She continues “Due to our attention span, shortening everything is easier to focus on, so it could be that it’s ‘dumbing down’ our ability or need to read.” - O, Cotham writes “When we’ve spent eight hours at work to then come home, cook dinner, wash up, and do any other life, we’re left overwhelmed and exhausted, and the thought of reading just feels a bit too much. Watching TV or scrolling feels a lot more appealing as it doesn’t require us to engage our cognitive faculties as much.”
Finally, I asked everyone: what do you think can be done to encourage the younger generation to read again? E answered “I think children need to be led by example. If your parents don’t read to you from an early age, you simply won’t see the value in it. I think if we make an effort to reduce our own screen time and pick up a book, that could have a massive impact.” - J said “This is tough. I guess it’s got to be fun, as an escape to a new world, or a source of information. A huge thing could be reducing screen time, or ensuring physical books are part of the school curriculum.” - L, Bedminster thinks “... sadly, we are too far into this new electronic generation where everything is controlled by the media, but the main way we can inspire children to read is to use the media to do so, I know for myself, content creators I see talking about books have inspired me to read again or to purchase more books.” she continues “To be honest, I’m sadly not entirely sure how to influence myself to read more.” M from Wiltshire writes “Verbal story telling encourages children’s imaginations. Reading challenges at the library are ways to encourage children to read. Talking about books and stories to children and getting them to write their own stories stimulates the mind!”
As much as our attention spans have seemingly disintegrated, there is a strong desire for individuals to want to read when time is dedicated, almost curated like an after-school activity. However, reading shouldn’t be considered a chore. Many of the individuals I have discussed this topic with truly believe that reading is fundamentally important to our society and the expansion of our minds, happiness and overall joy. I have only read three books this year, and it is not good enough! I am finding my own solutions in taking time to put my phone on silent, switching the narrative of a reading chore to a reading galore. I believe that reading will never disappear in our society, but it is up to us to ensure we continue to encourage ourselves and those to come to enjoy the pleasure that is reading.
Written by Charlotte Fairbairn
