This may be a cultural thing, but in Mexico, people in general just don’t promote reading enough. Neither do schools. Very few schools in my town have actual libraries, and at one of the schools I worked at, teachers hardly ever scheduled library visits for their groups. Most of the books in the library were old and unattractive to children, which is also a problem in the public libraries here. I hardly ever see kids reading a book during recess or dismissal time, unless it’s a mandatory book that a teacher assigns them to read. Of course, there are a few exceptions… I had a student in 9th grade last year who asked me to recommend him some books in English to read in his free time.
If anyone has seen my most recent post in the ‘Share Your Work’ thread, I decided to give my oldest nephew a book for his 9th birthday (which is this Thursday). But instead of giving him just any book that he probably wouldn’t even read, I wrote him a short story in English where he’s the narrator, and his family and classmates are the main characters. I pasted the pages over an old paperback to make it look like a real book. I had the idea because I want to encourage him to read for pleasure more, because when he lived in the US, he enjoyed reading; however, he lost interest in reading when he moved back here.
For those of you who are teenagers or who have relatives that are kids or teens…
Do young people in your country read a lot?
If so, do they read more e-books or physical books?
Do you or your family visit the library often?
How do you think young people can be encouraged to read more?
I mean I read a lot, but I’m not sure about the rest of kids my age. Reading itself is kind of dying out, I’d say. Most people my age just don’t take interest in reading anymore.
I go to the library often, I mean I’ve even memorized my entire library card number so yeah lmao I definitely go there often
Idk
Most people I know just aren’t interested in it and find it it boring. And forcing people to read books for school assignments and stuff doesn’t mean they’ll read more in their own time.
I think you have to start when they’re young and still impressionable. Introduce books when they’re learning to read and make them seem fun, I think then they can grow up actually liking to read.
I don’t know, I really don’t know. I can’t say they don’t read because I know some young people that do love books but I feel like there are more people that don’t read. It’s really sad!
I don’t know how young people can be encouraged to read more. Books are just not interesting for everyone!
There are people I know who read physical books, but I think e-books is more popular among the youngsters. Mostly because a lot of youngsters have phones and it’s lighter and saves space.
I rarely visit the library, mainly because I don’t read much, and the library doesn’t have a lot of books.
Im 30 and I dont remember many of my friends loving to read when I was in school 10+ years ago either. I wasn’t a fan and usually didn’t read the assigned books in class either… so I dunno what’s changed. Haha
I started reading as an adult and now I see my friends from HS started reading as an adult as well so there is hope.
I didnt realize what genres I liked until I became an adult.
Teachers should definitely encourage it and try to help kids find what genres might interest them.
I don’t know. In my opinion, I think that people are reading more nowadays than before. Not just with ebooks and reading online, but with physical books too.
