Reading is a hobby students love in their free time. In high school students, that is not the case, however. Reading is seen as uncool or boring by the majority of high school students. The younger they are, the less interest in books they have. Readers are not respected individuals although they gain knowledge from their hobbies. Hobbies like video games, watching movies, or even drawing are better than reading nowadays. Technology has become so normalized and is used so much in society, that kids rarely take time to do things besides being on it. In high schools especially, it is frowned upon as students call others “nerds” for reading. Nobody wants to seem uncool or not fit in, so they choose a popular hobby. Students in this school said they do not like reading because it is boring, takes too much time, and wastes time.
Reading is very beneficial to young minds as it can shape one’s way of thinking. According to Nuvance Heath, reading can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve sleep quality. These are very crucial things that can improve one’s life, yet people still find reading as wasteful. Students find video games like a much more useful hobby to fill up their time. According to the National Library of Medicine, however, video games can cause anxiety, depression, and other physical issues. Gieselle Muniz, a tenth grader, said her books are boring because she can’t focus on them. She was then asked if she read books from different genres and she said no. Students tend to venture into something new without an open mind and end up not liking it. Instead of exploring and trying to give it a real chance, they fail. This is because technology has left students with such short attention spans, that reading is not even given a fair chance. Another student by the name of Gisele Gonzalez was interviewed and said she did not read because she did not have the time. Reading should be just as important as other activities that students have as it is beneficial to their health. What is the underlying issue in students not wanting to read? That is the stigma against reading and the criticism against students who do read. Sherrie Castro was interviewed and said, “Students often get called nerds or people think they are losers who have nothing better to do”. Due to students who read getting criticized, nobody sees the point in going past the boredom, waste of time, or too much time ideals about reading.
In a society or school that deems reading as not a good hobby, how is there a chance of helping students out? Sherrie Castro responded to this by saying, “Reading events in the school to promote reading would be a good way to start!”. Reading events would have to gain a lot of traction and be advertised for students to participate. Just in luck, as the library is giving out free books it doesn’t need anymore from May 22-May 25 during lunch, before and after school in the MPR. Furthermore, Gisele Gonzales was interviewed and said, “Clubs or school set time for reading in English classes”. This is done in homeroom with SSR but English classes engagingly encouraging these things can help introduce students to reading. Similarly, Giselle Munz said, “Schools should encourage reading, especially from an early age. Might start them out with audiobooks”. This would be resourceful to students who have low attention spans or they don’t find reading easy to do. Nobody should be forced to read but nobody should be steered away from it either.
