Did Smartphones Really Kill Reading?

In The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch suggests that the age of reading may be over as people increasingly consume short, fragmented content on their smartphones instead of reading full books. While this may be true, it is important to note that the decline of reading began long before smartphones existed. In 1988, literary critic George Steiner claimed that the "age of the book" was gradually coming to an end, pointing to the rise of radio, cinema, and television as factors that started this shift.

Research supports Steiner's assertion, showing that the percentage of American 12th-graders reading for pleasure almost daily fell from over 60% in 1976 to 15% by 2025. This steady decline is attributed not only to the introduction of video games, personal computers, the internet, and smartphones, but also to broader cultural and historical changes.

Reading became popular in the 19th century due to factors like cheaper paper, steam-powered printing, compulsory education, and improved lighting, as well as the establishment of libraries, churches, labor movements, literary societies, and reading circles that created communities around reading. To revitalize reading, we must protect the printed book, create spaces where reading is the norm, and make reading social again.

This involves promoting the unique qualities of printed books, establishing environments conducive to focused reading, and fostering a sense of community around reading through initiatives like "shut up and read" sessions in libraries or phone-free cafés.