Reading—in particular, reading long books—is losing importance in Western culture, especially in the United States. It is being replaced by two main alternatives. On one hand, people read plenty on their smartphones, but usually it is snippets, such as texts, X and Facebook posts, newspaper articles, and other shorter items. On the other hand, audio and video outputs are rising in importance relative to full books.
When I visit the public library, most of the visitors are on internet terminals, and in San Antonio there is a public library without physical books at all. Anecdotally, I do not see people reading in public as much as I used to. Book sales are robust, but actual reading seems less culturally central. There is good evidence that a smaller percentage of Americans are reading books for pleasure. A New York Times survey indicates fewer whole books are being assigned as reading in high school classes. And within the publishing universe, audiobooks are where the growth lies.
The net result is that we are continuing to move from a literary culture to an oral culture. YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts are growing or robust. Texting is a major form of communication, but it is the written word conforming to the standards of oral communication. Abbreviations, incorrect grammar, short messages, and a conversation tone are paramount, and there are few rewards for longer, more carefully crafted sentences. The snippets we read on our smartphones, however useful or interesting, do not serve the functions of reading Tolstoy or a long, serious book on Roman history.
