"In an age with more user-created content than physically be consumed, where dinner tastes better in front of an HD television, and all your favorite movies are instantly available – in the palm of your hand, is there any need for the traditional book? Yes. Without a doubt, yes."

I don't think reading is lost on this generation's teenagers as much as it is oddly fetishized. If you look on teenage-favorites like Pinterest and Tumblr, there are whole accounts dedicated to books - that they'll probably never read. With 'The loss of the book' (slate.com) being a hot topic of conversation these days, people - and teens online - obsess over the thought and feel of a real book, instead of the content - which is the most important part.

Also, I think teens are more vocal about the books they read than before. Twilight, Hunger Games, all the John Green novels. They're all over Twitter and Tumblr, because they have a place where they can obsess over characters and stories - even of they only read a few books.

I definitely agree. But I think there is a problem if we're replacing classics with Twilight. Although as much as I am opposed to Twilight for multiple reasons, I do like that there is some form of reading still in place.

I like that you connected Tumblr and reading. But the question is, are they actually reading? Harry, Katniss, and Bella are exceptions to the rule, and I certainly hope that our teenagers have read more than this small (yet influential) collection.

So then I redirect my question which is more hinted at in the article above, what is the impact on society when the youth don't read? Or read less? Or read Twilight alone?

I agree, and that's what I'm worried about: They aren't reading these books.

I liken the popular books - Twilight, Hunger Games, the Perks of Being a Wallflower etc. - to popular music. They're fun to read, and appeal to almost everyone, but they're lacking in real depth.

I mean, I'm 15 and I read constantly. I use my phone to read books and use Pocket for web stuff constantly. But whenever I tell my friends about books or blogs that I like - much like my music recommendations - they just roll their eyes and go back to whatever.

I'm not sure. This generation isn't at a loss for things to read, and every device we carry has the ability to read things, but maybe it is viewed as an adult pastime, I'm not completely sure.

You're 15? You are very well-spoken for your age. I try not to think about someone's age when I'm speaking to them, simply because it isn't always a factor – as in your case.

Teenagers like you give me hope. There are probably more people around your age interested in reading than I am aware of.

I think social media can also be a fix for this issue. Through my experience I've been able to share great books with friends and family as well as people I've never met. Maybe it's just about rekindling the love of reading through social influence.

We need more teenagers like you, as well as adults, recommending books and encouraging reading outside of the academic setting. It shouldn't always be for a grade. But I'll save my dissatisfaction with the educational institutions for further blog posts and discussions.

Thank you. And yes, social media does play a huge factor. There are websites like Goodreads for books, and for blogs and other web stuff, there are sites like Kippt and Reading.am. (Speaking of, I literally just posted about almost everything I've read this year. jhmapleybrittle.tumblr.com)

But yeah, I'm not sure about the whole reading thing. Spelling on the other hand, that's just terrible all around. Short-form posts on Twitter and IM encourage abbreviations, acronyms, and emoji as a replacement for actual words.

Well, i read what you said and... Its kinda complicated.
I love to rea, I always do. I'm 16 and where I live is so weird that a people of my age likes to read. My friends' parents always suprise when the know that I do as my mom do. I think that there's no better way to earn culture and learn that reading, reading a good book.

"The correlation between blogs and books is only speculation."

I see two concerns here. The first is that you want young adults and teenagers to read more blogs. The second is that you want young adults and teenagers to read more classics. I think the two concerns are correlated. I do not think that the two concerns are directly related.

Blog reading among Americans in general is low. We create a huge amount of content, but it's the creators who are the readers and bloggers read/promote bloggers. I'm glad that James has become such an educated creator at such a young age. I think that he's setting a great example.

Our entire culture reads less and less novels, poetry, non-fiction, etc. Authors and books receive less and less attention as visual content (film, TV, web) receives more and more attention. It's interesting--just as print journalism is starting to back up digital formats (people buy print because they love what they're reading on a digital format and want to support that brand), visual media is supporting print media. Examples: Game of Thrones, Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, Ender's Game, John Dies at the End. In every one of these, print sales spiked after its visual counterpart succeeded.

Whether or not that's a good thing is up for debate, but if we want young adults to read classics, start showing them classics in a visual format. People want to read. People will pick up the books. They did (and will) with all those examples above.

Purity Ring is a great choice for album of the year, James.

Matthew, everything depends on the people youre talking. The most of the people would rather watching than reading, they find to read as "bored" and watching movies, read articles or anything fun. They don't know what they're talking about.

Certainly, I dislike The Hunger Games final.

I couldn't agree with you more, Matthew. So with this view, how would you advise written content creators to market their writing? Visuals have always been a strong staple on the internet (since they were supported at least) but how do you market to those who choose not to read? Is there a way to make reading attractive again?

And for the blogger, if reading is continuing to decline (outside of communities like Branch), what are we to do?

@Christopher Matthews.

On the blogging questio

"All read what they like to read"

@Christopher Matthews

On the blogging question, I think that Medium is making strides towards curating and promoting great writing content, by bloggers, by having the b

(I'm sorry. I keep pressing send!)

LOL.

@Christopher Matthews.

On the blogging question, I think that Medium is making strides towards the curation and promotion of great online content by taking out the part where each blogger has their own, separate - meaning more difficult to find - blogs, and giving them a profile, so that when they post they're contributing to the site as a whole, instead of other people having to find that writer's individual website.

"So with this view, how would you advise written content creators to market their writing?"

I think what we're seeing is that print authors are "branch"ing out and writing for other mediums. Chuck Klosterman, for example. He's a print novelist, contributor for magazines, websites, TV shows, blogs, etc.

Dave Eggers is a similar example. These writers that adapt and continue to use their writing abilities to do more than write print novels are the ones that are going to succeed. I'd also argue that Klosterman and Eggers are better reads and better time investments than Twilight and HP.

Writers need to markets themselves and seek exposure. They need to be adaptable. A one-dimensional writer like Stephanie Meyer is only successful because someone saw her book as a chance to make a lot of money as a screenplay.

How do you market Klosterman and Eggers to young adults and teenagers? That I'm not sure. I can tell you what though, I guarantee that many teachers will add Ender's Game to their summer reading lists this year because of the film adaptation that is to come. I consider that an accomplishment. Film and visual entertainment does not need to be at war with print.

"But how do you market to those who choose not to read?"
Not reading is a huge disservice. They'll either come around or make a daily decision to live a sheltered life. When they do decide to read though, I believe that they'll read the blogs that incorporate beautiful design, infographics, mulitmedia, etc. over the blogs that are text-based. And, in this age where information and news comes out so fast, who wouldn't want a multimedia approach to news?

"Film and visual entertainment does not need to be at war with print." I absolutely love the way you put this.

Thanks @Chrisopher Mathews! This is a thrilling discussion. @James Mapley-Brittle -- can you link me to Medium?

@James Mapley-Brittle your blog post encouraged me to sign up for a Pocket account.

@Matthew J. Bemer

It's just Medium.com and it's in closed beta for right now, and I'm happy you've signed up for Pocket - I love it!

OK, that makes sense. When I went there, it didn't seem like what you were describing. It is awesome that the guy who created it is from Blogger.

I wonder how you feel about your blog content on Medium belonging to a larger website, instead of your own brand. Are the popular ideas shared on Medium valued in some way?

(If you are familiar with Reddit, you can skip this next paragraph)
Reddit's karma system is an example. Redditors create content that is rewarded by points. If its a popular post they make the front page. Even though the content creator is never paid for the content, and that image may very well end up being stolen, Redditors still feel like they are compensated because they are "rolling in the karma."

@Matthew J. Bemer

The same could be said about Twitter. They own people's jokers and thoughts - in a way, but people aren't really complaining about it.

I don't think that reading is lost on current teenagers at all. Perhaps, if you cherry pick your representative group. But James shouldn't be considered the sole exception to a failing generation. If we want to talk about generational differences in reading, I want to see studies with numbers. In my own family, I've always been an avid reader. My brother, who's a little younger than me, only reads when he wants to learn something (which doesn't happen often). But the adults in my family are just as diverse. My father rarely reads. My mother reads when I urge her to. My paternal grandparents had rooms filled with bookshelves. My maternal grandmother only reads romance novels.

There are a wide variety of reading levels in each generation.

@James Mapley-Brittle Agreed. Although a RT has your face attached to it unless someone outright steals it.

This may be a bit off topic in this branch, but a lot of websites are using this system, that seems similar to Medium, where unpaid contributors can submit stories, links, news, blogs in the hope of making the front page. The website directly benefits because it doesn't have to promote those stories or pay the writer. The writer will promote the story because the writer wants to see his or her story on the front page. I'm not convinced that the writer benefits from this system. It is a trend that is catching on though.

@Spencer Smith Agree. I also think that it's important to note that you brought up the quality of reading among age groups as well. There is no real correlation between age and quality or quantity of reading. This is all based on our personal experiences though. It would be nice to see some actual data here.

I agree, I would love to see data on this too. As I stated in my blog post, I would love to be wrong. In this branch are several examples of where I am wrong – AND I LOVE THAT.

But just as my pool of teens is limited to who I know I think that the people branch draws in is also limited to people who like to read (something I love about this platform).

I guess through writing this I wanted to discover how to reach those that aren't reading. Or should we try to reach them at all? Matthew expressed writing in other ways. But is there a way to bundle video and reading for younger viewers who wouldn't otherwise be reading. And I ask this outside of the scope of major movie distributors and franchises like Twilight. Think YouTube and bloggers.

Spencer, that is my case, my mom only reads short novels, and, the another ones, doesnt read.

@Christopher Mathews I feel like this conversation might go towards "Snowfall." I know that isn't a blog, but it is a good example of bundling video, reading, infographics and interactive content to get people to read a story.

nyti.ms

@Christopher Mathews

"But is there a way to bundle video and reading for younger viewers who wouldn't otherwise be reading"

Yes! I think there is. Especially if what is important about reading is the passing along of ideas. There are many popular vloggers on Youtube who use their vlogs as platforms to educate and promote traditional reading.

Sex+ with Laci Green comes to mind. Three minute videos that give a particular lesson on sexuality. She has over 250,000 subscribers and most of her videos have over 100,000 views.

I don't think her audience is only people who like to read. Readers interested in sex positivism are probably reading the theorists Green is drawing on. They don't need Green.

youtube.com

Thank you Spencer and Matthew. I hadn't seen the Snowfall website yet. I am good friends with a few people who found their "fame" on YouTube, but they don't have any written content to support their videos.

I guess it comes down once again to content creators. We must be more than just writers or vloggers or photographers, etc. It's a challenge, but one that should be exciting.

This all gave me a lot of hope for my own blog, my own content, and the youth that we'll all soon be interacting with. Reading is quite possibly just as alive as it was generations before. As for the web, content creators are going to have to fight to be more visual and more entertaining. But as Spencer put it, it's really about the transmission of ideas. However that may happen.