People of different ages have different perspectives and opinions on what reading culture is, some perceive reading as a simple task that has no bearing on their situation, or something that could be done with less seriousness. While some others see reading as a herculean task that cannot be handled lightly. Each of these perspectives goes a long way in influencing the level of concentration and importance that would be attached to reading- whether it is done for leisure, examination purposes or for any other reason. Reading is not limited to a certain age bracket, but it is for anyone who is willing to learn something new, make new discoveries and be in touch with what is going on in the world. But the fact is: as simple or beneficial as it is to read not many people are actually into it and it is appalling to see that teens in recent times do not read like they used to anymore. What could be responsible for this ugly trend? Why is the reading culture at an all-time low among teens?
Some people say that advancement in technology and what it (technology itself) can do has actually affected the habit of reading among teens since it has been used to replace reading. They are of the opinion that teens have taken up interests in TV shows, sports, social network sites, internet surfing, etc. and they can spend hours doing or watching any of these without getting bored at all. The only time they tend to pick their books for reading is when they have assignment, exams or they have any outstanding schoolwork they are yet to finish. However, it is significant to remember that prior to the technological advancement mostly being witnessed in the 21st century, teens read books a lot mostly because their choices are somehow limited in terms of substitutes to reading but now that we are in the Digital Age where almost everything is moving at an amazing speed, teens now consider reading to be of lesser fun compared to the available replacements which include TV shows, sport programmes, internet surfing, chatting with friends online, uploading different contents on social network sites, computer games but to mention a few. This line of thought makes it seems as if technological advancement has totally destroyed the habit of reading among teens.
On the contrary, I am of the opinion that it is this same technological advancement that has produced different electronic devices and smartphones which can make reading to be easier for our teens especially if the books are e-books. But the question again is what if they don’t use such devices for reading at all? Or what if they actually have e-books on such devices and they don’t see the need to read them? In actual fact, I am not against the use of technology for whatever rational and decent means necessary by the teens per se, but I think everything in this life should be done with a sense of moderation and self- restraint, in other words, a proper balance should be struck between other activities and reading by the teens since they still have a long way to go and have very much to learn.
Teens don’t read like they used to, not because of the paucity of reading materials (of course there are many books out there specifically written for teens) but it is because of a lack of determination and discipline to focus and concentrate on whatever they are reading. Again, the question is among those that claim that they read, how many of them remember anything out of what they read? What if they are just flipping through the pages (especially if the books are in hardcopies) while their mind is somewhere else? Or what if they only pretend to read just to satisfy the promptings of their parents or teachers and such reading does not come from their hearts? In this case, it is too hard to tell.
The mentality among teens that reading is or should be only for exams and assignments and not for any other reason is absolutely wrong. Some teens believe that once exams are over, reading also stops. Such don’t believe in reading for leisure or to make new discoveries while others even believe that there is no need to bother oneself with intensive reading with the aim of providing instant response to any question being asked. They are of the opinion that why do they need to stress themselves by reading so much when they can easily google an idea or a thing and get an instant answer online. This calls for a serious re-orientation.
There is no gainsaying in the fact that meaningful reading takes a more conscious effort to achieve, that is why teens need motivation, being led by example and if possible positive reinforcement to be able to cultivate the habit of reading. Since they are in probably the most challenging period of their life in terms of growth and development, they might find it difficult to sit quietly at a place to read. This is as a result of the fact that many of them consider reading as tedious and boring, not only that there are also many distractions out there competing for their attention.
The importance of reading to teens cannot in any way be neglected: it inspires and motivates, it widens one’s horizon, it enables one to learn new words and develops one’s vocabularies, it offers exposure to an individual and it can create a sense of creativity in a person. It seems teens are not aware of these facts probably because they don’t know and that is why they have chosen not to bother themselves with reading unlike before.

Ask Seun they are now on Naira land insulting people up and down