Band 7+: the number of children that read books for fun has dropped dramatically in recent years. What are the reasons for this? How can we encourage children to read more?

Reading books is one of the oldest ways that an individual can kill boredom. Moreover, they have been a fundamental part of entertainment for young people for a long time. Sadly, the number of kids that flick through books in their free time has begun to drastically decrease. The main causes for this are the introduction of electronic gadgets to kids and the rise of digital forms of entertainment. Thankfully, we can encourage children to read more in many ways, such as presenting it in a more fun way or teaching the young generation about the positive effects of reading.

First, the invention of electronic devices along with the rise of movies and series have caused the decline in the number of young readers. Furthermore, since mobile phones and tablets became popular, the need for entertainment through books has basically become obsolete. Also, with Netflix or HBO subscriptions, kids can watch different cartoons, movies or series whenever they please. As a result, critical thinking and creativity are not fully developed among today’s children.

Finally, we can solve these problems by spreading awareness to children about the importance of reading books and by trying to make reading look more interesting. Moreover, if the kids realise that their brains are doomed unless they start reading more, that would cause them to do it. Also, we can make the book covers look visually more attractive or start rewarding kids that read more in order to increase the number of young readers.

To conclude, the number of children that read books for entertainment has reached a trough because of the increased use of electronics and also because of the development of the movie industry. In order to solve this problem, we need to make reading more interesting, and we need to teach kids about the positive impact of reading on their brain development. In my opinion, reading is a fundamental part of generating creativity and encouraging critical thinking in a child. Furthermore, it would certainly help our society if the number of readers becomes greater.