There are plenty of cases in which people our age feel a want to read, but cannot bring themselves to. Maybe they feel stuck. Maybe they feel as if school has shifted their perspective on it. However, narrowing it down, there are two major causes to this disconnect between want and action in regards to teenage literacy.
So, what is important about reading?
According to Mr. Smith, an English teacher at Greenwood High School, reading’s value is found in “tracking with someone else’s thinking;” broadening your own perspective by using insight from someone else’s experience and wisdom.
If someone felt as if they got ‘no benefit’ from reading — if they felt it was ‘useless’ — they would not participate in it. Finding something valuable from reading plays a factor in whether or not people feel the pull to ever read again. English classes and common overanalyzations leave people feeling as if they have to pick apart every book they read to obtain every detail. Realistically, you would have to re-read most books several times to have a complete understanding of it, and there is a lot more freedom to “finding meaning” in a book than people assume. Symbols and references exist in a plot underneath the essentials (such as plot, dialogue, characters, etc) and are there to be expanded on to help bring you a clearer understanding of the writing — but sometimes — you just won’t catch any of that extra stuff. That stuff helps you draw a connection between what you read and the life you live. Plus, it is hard to get it ‘right,’ because you technically cannot. Interpretation is well, interpretation. As Mr. Smith said, “Be willing to get it wrong.” Overall, to find value in a piece is to try.
A second cause behind the disconnect is attention span. Now, why our attention spans are bad is an entirely different story, but you can point fingers at a couple of scapegoats if you would like: social media is a great target. To battle a struggling attention span requires mastering your own patience and urges. Be honest with yourself! If you make yourself a promise such as “I will finish it tonight,” will you really? If you have the time and space to do what you need to do, you should simply do it. If you know that getting on your phone will shut you off from anything productive, reason with yourself why you have to get on your phone to begin with. Why are you getting on your phone? Does it really matter? Could you do whatever it is you are doing on your phone later? Questions such as these can help you become a more self-aware and intentional person.
Struggle with bringing yourself to read all comes down to whether or not you are willing to care. Your attention exists to be funneled towards what you personally want to funnel it towards. Every second spent on one thing cannot be pointed towards another. If you are controlled by your own pull to needless distractions, that does not just stop you from reading, it keeps you from important things like friends, exercise, family, school, or an actual hobby. This is not an accusation: we all struggle with it. But how much control do you really have over yourself? What can you do to be more intentional? So maybe, if you want to read, you should just pick up a book. You are in control of yourself.
