April 12, 2021 Internet influenced reading habits By Abid Hussain https://pakobserver.net/internet-influenced-reading-habits-by-abid-hussain/ READING is one of the oldest habits of human civilization and has remained the passion of the most extraordinary personalities of all times. It is a springboard of any literacy programme. It is a source of conscious learning and is the art of interpreting printed and written words. Reading is a source of the accuracy of the information and the attitudes, judgment, beliefs and morals. A person who reads books or magazines for thorough learning always finds solutions to problems they face. There is a severe decline in reading culture. Students of the old ages mainly were relying on reading books. Gone are the days when libraries were full of intellectual readers. Libraries were considered as the place of creative thinking in reading. Reading culture’s importance cannot be overemphasized for many reasons because without readings, neither a person nor academic success can be achieved. Reading is an aid to language development, socialisation and civilisation. Without reading, no society can grow in the right direction. Reading is essential for any society because without readings, neither we can learn effective communications nor we survive in an environment where we dwell. The development of reading skills is an essential skill for all ages of society. To teach the reading culture in the children, one should confer reading tactics to their children. Pakistani parents, teachers and even students always rely more on fate rather than to read for success. Pakistani students are facing several problems in developing a good reading culture. Some noteworthy examples are either we do not have libraries at the school level or scarcity of quality books in the libraries, lack of interest of parents and teachers in children’s readings, innovative digital technologies and proper training for books by librarians and teachers. Among them, the Internet has badly violated the interest of our young slots. However, the Internet is a worldwide network of communication through an approved protocol. Internet is the source of unlimited wealth of information. It can be accessed easily for unencumbered resources. It is a veritable tool for learning, teaching, and research activities, but reading culture has been severely threatened due to this technological innovation. The teenagers and secondary school students in Pakistan are misleading by this technology in the wrong direction. We know that technology is taking steady control over individual lives. Our society’s teenage students are spending more time on the Internet than studying books and watching informative videos. The Pub G game has intoxicated our young generation badly and they are spending more time instead of researching on the Internet. Students of today’s ages are playing with funky handsets, chatting with friends, non-stop short messages, and consuming much time on video gaming, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. Libraries are the most significant sources of reading and archaic ideas. Students ought to be directed there, instead of allowing mobile inside the schools and colleges. In a nutshell, Internet has caused declining reading culture in Pakistan and students of young ages are highly affected by mobile phones. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority should implement a vital check on vulgar websites that captured students’ minds to entertainment rather than reading. Although the reading culture has increased, not decreased, smartphones have addicted our young generation worst and their memories have been damaged by the fastest internet packages being introduced in Pakistan. The Government and private institutions should entirely ban smartphones inside the institutions. Computer labs can be used with strict monitoring policy and entertainment sites should fully be prohibited to avoid young slots from intoxication in teenagers. Parents should not allow their kids to use their mobile phones with internet facilities. The Internet can only be utilized to do their assignments, to communicate with their teachers, etc. There should also be a law stipulating the age limit of the utilization of internet sites that affect our young students’ reading culture. Remember! A person who learns quickly from the Internet will forget soon. Internet is a fashion for short learning memory. It defects your brain for long hours. It damages health, eyesight and brain memory. Using the Internet is suitable for mature people, not for young generations. —The writer is library officer at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.
