What happened to all the books? | Clockwork of the Universe #1½

Recently there’s been a talk going around concerning supposed decrease in readership. Some research suggests that fewer and fewer people are reading books. But are we actually reading less?

Undoubtedly, we read fewer printed books. Why’s that? Literature has to compete with more entertainment now, and pretty much all of it is both easier to consume and more, well, entertaining. Movies and series are shorter and don’t require you to imagine anything, unlike books. Video games often tell stories similar to books but engage the “reader” more and allow them to interact with the story, which is not possible with traditional books, except for game books, which unfortunately never really caught on. Even board games are experiencing somewhat of a renaissance thanks to the internet which makes them more accessible. What's more, social media is disturbingly shortening our attention span and that in turn makes it even harder to focus on what is basically just a wall of text.

Interestingly, when it comes to reading in general, readership is de facto on the rise. People are reading more and more e-books and listening to audiobooks on the go. Many fans of anime are exploring the source material – manga and light novels. Platforms like Wattpad and Archive of Our Own are gaining popularity. In addition to dividing the story into more bite-sized pieces, they also encourage interaction between readers and the author, and thanks to that readers can influence how the story unfolds.

All in all, I think it is highly unlikely that text as a medium for storytelling will disappear completely – as it is still widely used – it will simply adapt to changes in culture. The only question is, how will this change change us?