The Negative Effects Of Social Media On Reading

From the moment our eyes open in the morning till they close at night, the average American is spending time on some form of social media. It is here that critical thinking, reading, writing and language are diminishing as these social media sites fill their place. Youth, young adults, and even adults are deprived of the joys that come come with reading, writing, critical thinking and language. Social media is the culprit in this case; stealing away important life skills from the lives of those around us. But today, social media 's destruction will be no more, for light had been shed on this once dim, illadress subject of social media’s negative effect on reading, writing, language and critical thinking. But before we explain how social media

But what reading does for us is one area that has seemed to see a little neglected lately is what reading does for us. “As we make our way through the world of print, we develop criteria of value and questions that equip us to read critically and open heartedly, receptively and resistantly” (McEntyre, 65). Reading does something to our minds, allowing us to be open to new ideas and concepts, while still holding on to what we believe true. A good piece of writing allows for the reader to ask questions of themselves and those around them and yet still find answers. One area of what reading does for us that I had never thought about, was brought up by McEntyre. She says, “As we read a text aloud, we literally breathe life into it” (85). We breathe life into the text that we read. How phenomenal is that? We have the ability to make what we read something that will live in the hearts of those who hear and read what is written in

Our social media influence on reading can be seen all around us. “Think how constantly ‘the average American’ is surrounded by premeditated language, in newspapers and magazines, on signs and billboards, on TV and radio, on TV and radio” (Berry, 6). Everything we read on these signs, on TV and more have had someone planning out what they are going to say and how they are going to grab the general public 's attention. When we read these messages, are we really taking the time to think about what they are saying? We are fed messages through our language that tell us lies or misconceptions and yet we do not seem to mind the lies. One of the main risk that faces the youth, young adults and adults is the false information posted, not only about the person posting the information, but about other people (Schurgin-O 'Keeffe, 3). Dimnet said, “we shall have little doubt that reading, as practiced by most people, is nothing but a method of not thinking” (86). If we do not read to think then what does the reading do for us? Nothing, we gain nothing if we do not think about what we read and apply it to our