“Is the Page Turning into a Ghost Story? Unraveling the Mystery Behind Reading’s Disappearing Act”
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where a swipe can replace a page turn, the written word is facing an uphill battle for relevance. Remember the days when you could lose yourself in the pages of a gripping novel? Those days seem to be slipping away as we embrace the quick hit of video content and the allure of AI-generated summaries. Have you ever wondered if we’re sacrificing the richness of our reading experiences for short clips that barely scratch the surface? It’s more than just a personal lament; recent studies reveal a shocking downturn in reading habits, with nearly half of American adults not picking up a single book for over a year. As a devoted writer and ardent advocate for the beauty of written language, these statistics send shivers down my spine. Join me as I dive into the implications of this trend and how it threatens the very fabric of literacy. LEARN MORE.
This Just In: AI summaries and the pivot to video are bad news for the written word.
In about 2010, I was added to a team redesigning the company website. During the conversation with the creative agency, the project lead explained we should consider the web’s upcoming “pivot to video” and integrate more video content on the site.
That meeting was well before video-first social platforms became popular, but I think about that “pivot to video” comment often. Ultimately, we didn’t build videos into the site due to not having the infrastructure to edit and host them, but the project lead’s prediction would prove correct.
A video-first web became the big hit of the late ’10s and early ’20s internet. Today, TikTok and Instagram Reels capture attention spans while YouTube video “essays” drive engagement. While video has become immensely popular, I wonder if it came at a cost.
Reading is on a significant decline.
A recent study of American adults revealed that nearly half have not read a book in over a year. Further, more than half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. As someone who writes on the internet and who values written words, these statistics are highly problematic.
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