Reading Case

Many people believe that reading is in decline, but reading may just be changing. On July 8, 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published findings that showed a dramatic decline in American adults reading literature. For instance, fewer than half were reading novels, poetry, and plays. In November 2007, the NEA reported that the number of seventeen-year olds that said they read for fun was continuing to decrease. Therefore, the chairman of the NEA said that this decline in reading was a national crisis. Articles in the New York Times in 2008 traced the decline in reading to the increased use of the Internet. As a result, more and more teenagers are active online. In addition, they watch YouTube, check in on MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook. However, some educational psychology professors think that reading is just changing. For example, teenagers read email and social networking messages, gain information from Google and Wikipedia, and study encyclopedia and community sites for computer games. They read online at sites like quizilla.com and facfiction.net. Although young people are reading in all sorts of ways, it just may not be very traditional. Many people believe that reading is in decline, but reading may just be changing. On July 8, 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published findings that showed a dramatic decline in American adults reading literature. For instance, fewer than half were reading novels, poetry, and plays. In November 2007, the NEA reported that the number of seventeen-year olds that said they read for fun was continuing to decrease. Therefore, the chairman of the NEA said that this decline in reading was a national crisis. Articles in the New York Times in 2008 traced the decline in reading to the increased use of the Internet. As a result, more and more teenagers are active online. In addition, they watch YouTube, check in on MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook. However, some educational psychology professors think that reading