Social media proliferated with the advent of the internet . As more web content was created , it marked the onset of digital reading . As digital reading tools like e-readers and apps were developed , we saw a gradual demise of paperbound books . The percentage of 9 to 17-year-olds who preferred paper books over e- books decreased from 66 % in 2010 to 58 % in 2012 ( Alter , 2014 ). There is a distinct disjunction between paper book reading and web-reading . With copious information found in the web , we inadvertently scan for details rather than reading the text analytically . This in turn clouds our aptitude to judge and formulate opinions . Moreover , websites are designed to allure readers with their assiduously placed layout . The layout is designed with the consideration of the following factors ( How People Read on the Web : The Eyetracking Evidence , n . d ): “ - Gaze plots ( dots to indicate points where a person ’ s eyes focus ) - Heat maps ( color-coded visualizations of where many people look ) - Screenshot examples - Graphs
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The above mentioned factors are determined after intensive analysis of the scanning patterns of people when they read web content using eye-tracking technology ( How People Read on the Web : The Eyetracking Evidence , n . d ). Thus , in a remote way , we are manipulated by our scanning habits : we see and read what the corporate syndicates what us to view . Technological gadgets whose primary or auxiliary function is messaging have also morphed our reading . It has been disclosed that text messages are the most popularly read material by children outside their classroom ( Vasagar , 2012 ). The impediment with such reading is that young people switch unconsciously to using abbreviated terms and not the correct linguistic words . The spontaneous change to adapt into the various domains of the digital space is called “ codeswitch ” ( Levinson , 2013 ). Code-switching is difficult and might cause kids to be overcome by lassitude , doubt and might distract them ( Levinson , 2013 ).
Education System
Dwindling reading rates egged renowned authors and illustrators of children ’ s books to sign a letter to President Barack Obama stating that extensive “ standardized testing ” in schools has caused our children to “ lose their love of books ” ( Tobar , 2013 ). The letter also asserted that public school students consecrated much of their time for test-preparation that they are bereft of time to read books that invigorate their imagination ( Tobar , 2013 ). Furthermore , it is observed that as a child ’ s age increase , the amount of homework given to that stu-