We grew up in the 90s. At that time there were no smartphones and it was a rarity tool. No one had much inclination towards the cell phone unlike now. People were interested in reading books, telling stories, and cinematography. Books were the most popular item for recreation, and they dominated the hearts of people. In our leisure time we read books. The thoughts, characters and the way the story went were the main discussion in our friend’s circle. We could feel every character of a story that we read whether it was a novel, fantasy, science fiction, mystery and thriller, romance, historical fiction, horror, biography and memoir, mystery, and even history.
Many wealthy people had their own libraries in their homes. Those are now just stories of the past. Just like the human body, the mind also needs ‘food’. A good book can meet this need. Sadly, the new generation is losing interest in books. If this continues, perhaps the next generation will slowly forget about reading books. This is because the print version of books, journals, newspapers turned digital where people read the glimpse on screen. They have no details in their minds, no full knowledge of subject matter. Nowadays, many draw a conclusion that people are so busy – they have no time to read books or stories. But the reality is opposite. They spend screen hours browsing through social media pages. We once believed that newspapers build the habit of reading in the young minds by telling hard news, interesting stories and events’ details. More ironic is that almost all newspapers are now trying to hold the readers by turning them into digital versions where Likes and Views are more important than alluring them deep into stories.
A British author has warned that the children of the future generation will be illiterate due to the dominance of various social media including Twitter and Facebook. As per Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jackson, it is known that the use of smartphones and the extensive use of various social media including Facebook and Twitter is changing the way the young generation communicates dramatically. And this is mainly why they are losing the habit of reading books. In this case, he did not only talk about the young generation but also highlighted his own situation. He can no longer pay much attention to books. Part of his attention also goes behind the screen of his mobile and computer.
Once, there were postmen in our country. Carefully written letters would be delivered to the addresses of loved ones. Now is the era of mobile SMS. Handwriting is almost impossible without an exam. The world has progressed through the excellence of science and technology. As new discoveries are made, we are turning our backs on humans and becoming absorbed in mechanics.
Today, we are in the hands of machines. A large part of the day is spent with machines. Various research reports have revealed that the quality of education in the Western world has declined significantly. Last year, the rate of reading literature among adults was the lowest since 1982 – only 43 percent of people read at least one book that year.
According to data from the Information and Communication Technology Department of Bangladesh, there are currently 23.3 million Facebook users in the country. Among them, the majority are young people. Those who are using Facebook positively are using it correctly. However, this number is small. Most of them spend their time watching what a friend is posting or how many people like or commenting on their posts. This is basically what keeps our young people from reading books. A low number of young people go to the library to look for good books. In this situation, the proper use of technology is necessary to make the new generation book-oriented. We need to bring back the habit of reading books.
Many people, however, think that fewer good books are being published today. That is why the love for reading books is decreasing at a rapid pace. Some think that the busy lifestyle is also largely responsible for the aversion to books. Today’s students are constantly trapped in the coaching-school-private-coaching cycle. As a result, they do not get the leisure to read books outside the textbooks. Earlier, most families used to read books in their own library. Now that too has decreased.
In such a situation, one should not read only to get a GPA-5, but to become a good person and to increase creativity. If the proper use of technology, good quality libraries and a favorable environment for reading books are created, the love for books will increase among people. Parents and teachers should also play a role in making students book oriented. There can be a 30-minute book reading class at least once a week.
The effects of excessive addiction and misuse of technology are being observed in various areas of life. As a result, cybercrime is also increasing. Reading books has an impact. If we want to build a prosperous nation, there is no alternative to reading books. Therefore, reading books should be increased to achieve excellence in the mind.
Only when the mind is excellent can a person become a real human being with human qualities. Therefore, the misuse of technology must be eliminated first and foremost. In short, we need to be aware now. We need to increase interest in reading books and establishing libraries. And we also need to encourage the little ones to read more books.
(The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author)
The writer is a journalist and columnist
