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Historically, one of the most universal college experiences was struggling to keep up with reading. On today’s campuses, students don’t struggle to read — they just don’t.
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By Marissa Bell Johnson
TAMPA, Fla. — Reading is one of the most important practices in academia. It allows for interaction with different perspectives in a field, as well as a better understanding of the specific concepts being studied. But colleges have recently seen a drastic decrease in students’ reading, a trend sometimes referred to as the “college reading crisis.”
In an article for The Atlantic, Nicholas Dames, a literature professor at Columbia University, spoke about how his students have recently begun to struggle with reading the same amount he’s always assigned or to understand the material as they read it.
“His students tell him up front that the reading load feels impossible,” Dames said.
It’s not just in classes either. Students are reading less in general.
This decrease in the amount of reading has led to a further decrease in literary skills: students’ ability to comprehend what they’re reading, stay focused on the text, make connections to larger issues, and much more.
The decline in reading skills also has implications outside of schools. Without a proper grasp of essential aspects of reading comprehension, graduates may struggle to communicate effectively, especially in writing.
This isn’t the case for all college students. Corinne Cavanagh, an English major in the class of ‘27, says she often reads outside of class.
Cavanagh said, “Mostly mysteries and thrillers, some realistic fiction [novels] if they’re interesting.”
“I’m the kind of person who will hit a certain point in a book, and I need to know how it ends. I literally can’t put it down until I finish it,” Cavanagh said. She described that feeling as essential to the process. “You have to put in the work to finish it.”
Cavanagh also said she thinks college students are reading “in general, definitely less [than before], but my opinion is also skewed since most of my friends are English majors and readers.” She explained that “there are so many other forms of entertainment, like TikTok and Netflix, which are easier than getting a book, and require less brainpower.”
Cavanagh feels that “when [students] have time to relax and read a book for fun, they’d rather be doing something easier, since so much of their time is spent in college classes that require them to use their brain.”
She specifically mentioned an article she read for Dr. Kyle McIntosh’s Reading and Writing in the Discipline (English) class, called “Why Read?”
The article, written by Karen Manarin, discusses the importance of an individual’s perceived value of reading and how that affects their willingness and desire to read.
At the end of her article, Manarin concludes that “if people who read more are likely to become better readers, and therefore read more, we have to do what we can to encourage that future for our students and for ourselves. We need competent, independent, and literate citizens.”
Young adults, and especially students, should want to read more. After all, reading is one of the best ways to better understand the world around you and the perspectives of other people within it.
Forgoing reading — whether for class or for fun — diminishes the capacity for comprehension and prevents exploration of an entire world beyond the current reality. It limits the capability to imagine a better, more empathetic world, and the means to take the necessary steps towards one.