Children Losing Interest In Books Due To Short Term Attention

According to the latest research a growing number of children are losing interest in long term reading such as literature due to their short term attention span resulting from the excessive usage of internet and social media.

During the study, which was carried out by the publisher Pearson, more than 4-in-10 teachers said that children lost their interest in reading for pleasure at the age of about 11.

The research also concluded that a growing number of schools fear that children these days have short term attention span which makes them prefer spending time on the internet rather than indulging in book reading.

Teachers have also complained that parents are not exerting sufficient effort in this regard and many students simply don’t see book reading trend as a ‘cool’ one.

Author Frank Cottrell Boyce said that this is a worrying situation since according to UNESCO, the most important indicator of whether a person would excel at his school or work is that he or she reads for pleasure.

He further said that most young people are simply not inspired enough to pick up a good book and indulge in reading.

About 400 secondary school teachers were questioned during the poll. Two-third of the participants said that their students simply don’t see reading as a ‘cool’ habit.

About three-quarters said that children have lost long term attention span while an overwhelming 94 percent of the teachers said that students preferred using internet over reading books.

An important factor seen in the report was the belief of teachers that parents are not doing enough to alter this alarming situation.

About 97 of the teachers said that parents should encourage their children to read books.

The role of recent films such as Twilight and The Hunger Games was also discussed, with the teachers suggesting that such films can fuel the interest for reading in young people.

Reading habits of boys and girls were also brought under consideration, with about 83 percent of the teachers saying the boys are more likely to read fantasy books, while about 65 percent believed such a thing about girls.