Twilight of the books

   According to the article, the proportion of reading books has decreased continuously more and more after invention of the television. But the advantages of reading are more than watching T.V or using computer. On the contrary, Television and similar media have increased many problems, such as mass murders, ADHD, etc.

Dana Gioia, the N.E.A. chairman, proclaimed “Poor reading skills correlate heavily with lack of employment, lower wages, and fewer opportunities for advancement.”

I agree with her because many people who had good reading skills were able to get good jobs in high positions or get promoted.

For example, poor reading skills mean poor understanding and judgment which could result in more mistakes while working. Can you employ or give chances to those people?

People who read many kinds of books became excellent leaders or billionaires even though they didn’t graduate from school like Lincoln, Edison, Steven Spielberg, etc, because they were able to control their mind and had creative imagination which led them to splendid achievements.

Also, Proust said “To read is to receive a communication with another way of thinking, all the while remaining alone, that is while continuing to enjoy the intellectual power that one has in solitude and that conversation dissipates immediately.”

I second that thought because I can learn different ideas from books and have chance to change my opinion about something.

For example, I can’t respect someone’s thinking during arguments. But when I am with books, I can think deeply about opposites’ and find some way of solution.

The power of reading is that it gives us lots of opportunities which are filled with many experiences that make our life more abundant.

On the other hand, The author maintained in the language of McLuhan that “Electronic technology fosters and encourages unification and involvement and the closeness makes it hard to negotiate differences of opinion.”

I disagree with him. Did the ancient people like the old Greeks or Romans negotiate differences of opinion better than the modern people living with a variety of electronic technology? Does TV or internet actually foster unification and involvement so that the audiences or users cannot put up with the differences of opinion?

I think the difference of opinion doesn’t come from the electronic technology itself but from how the audiences sort and judge the information acquired from TV or internet.

   We live in the time of a flood of information. Most of people know that reading books is very important in their life and advise their children to read books to build better lives. Moreover, we must control ourselves and children about watching or using time on television or computer. I am convinced surely, that reading books won't become extinct but are about to become revived again by its benefits.

Thank you,