Since half of Americans are functionally illiterate, how would they read for fun?

I’m part of this as well. I read a ton as a kid to the point my parents took away my books as punishment. Gaming definitely did (and does) take up more and more time I could be reading with. But it’s honestly been give and take. Recent games reignited a desire to read sci fi, so I got 3 books into the Dune series and read Neuromancer and some of Gibsons other short stories just this year.

I hope that we see a resurgence similar to vinyl, where physical media gets a revival. I’ll admit, i read quite a few books on my phone. Maybe I’m getting old, but having the actual books is becoming more and more appealing by the day. It might be coming back guys!

Obviously the Internet plays a big role in this as people have said, but it’s worth mentioning this was also the era where tv stopped sucking (from reality tv awfulness to a bunch of absolute banger dramas), AND where Netflix and then other streaming services became available. So there are huge competition effects.

I’ve also never bought fully into the “reading good TV bad” mindset. Leisure is leisure, especially if the article’s raised point is “identifying with literary characters”. That certainly happens in other forms of media. Even if it’s reading to learn, I watch a LOT of YouTube these days, and probably 75% of what I watch is how to and instructional. Also let’s not forget with each new form of leisure: “fast-paced music” (classical), books for the masses, magazines, tv, jazz, rock and roll, DnD, the internet, VR etc…there was always someone saying the new stuff will rot your brain while they pine for something that was maligned when it was new.

Reclassify doom scrolling as recreational.

I solve problems people.

Im definately part of this one. I read voraciously up until college when I had to lay off of it during the school year or it interfered with studies to much. Was still my favorite pass time till the new millenia when the internet sorta took over (work n life and junk is maybe a bit to blame given my first decent job and getting married). Last book I read was the last book robert jordan wrote in the wheel of time series. Maybe something after that but even at the point I read that I had borrowed it from a work friend I shared an office with when he finished it. So I was way slowed down and figure that was 2005 or 2006 since he picked up the book as soon as it was available in hardcover. Oh man its been 20 years since I was big on reading. Going to be half my life soon enough.

Yeah, we can tell…

Unfortunately it’s not just a US problem. It’s more of a general issue. People ‘read’ a lot, but generally the wrong things. Like social media. And it’s causing people to lose their ‘reading muscles’ so to speak.

When I first got online in 1995, forum posts were much longer and more insightful. These days you see a lot of ‘tl;dr’ attitudes.

In my opinion, reading is a fundamental part of the human experience and important in people’s general development. Reading needs to be encouraged if possible, enforced if necessary. But there’s a lot of resistance to that.

Judging by your president, I think 40% fewer Americans read. For fun or otherwise.

I started working sixty hours a week to make ends meet. Hard to spare the time.

I read because it’s nice to be in a differently reality for a bit. I generally do fantasy, because the world’s immersive and it’s fun to get lost in. My buddy said he’s reading The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy, and I had it in the list, and it’s definitely not the escape that The Stormlight Archive was.

As with others here, I also do the audiobook thing. Reading is reserved for the time before bed, 15-30m or so, and audiobooks are for when you’re engaged in something that doesn’t require your full attention, like operating heavy machinery or power tools.

I discovered AO3 2 years ago and have over 400 bookmakers that I’m actively reading when they update. Don’t worry everyone I’ll binge read for the rest of you

I “read” a lot. Just audio books. I don’t usually get time to sit down and read, but I do a lot of driving and other mind numbing chores. For that, I “read”

I don’t have the mental bandwidth to read Mich. I’m always exausted

I do a ton of recreational reading, but it’s mostly articles and comments here instead of books.

More other types of entertainment existing now.

That makes a lot of sense.

This might make some of you uncomfortable, but it seems like this coincides with women’s adoption of tech and social media.

Women already read at way higher rates than men, but since so many of them are swept up in the social media hysteria, they literally don’t have time or patience to do it any more.