Anthony Lino Montes

Freshman Evan Lino Montes expresses his dislike for reading.

As time passes by and new generations emerge, books are slowly being forgotten. For Generation Alpha, reading stories and chapter books has become a lost memory. Instead of reading, Generation Alpha kids now spend their time playing video games or scrolling through social media without a mindful purpose. 

The time when kids used to have fun reading chapter books and interesting stories has passed. Now, Generation Alpha risks losing a whole society that is turning away from the books and stories the older generations before it grew up with.

Generation Alpha was the first generation to be exposed to the internet and social media. Because of this, it was inevitable that the new generation would evolve with the changing times, but that came with a cost. Studies show that only 32 percent of Generation Alpha members who were in fourth grade in 2022 were proficient in reading. 

For students like junior Anthony Lino Montes, who have Gen Alpha siblings, these changes have been concerning. “My brother Evan is always on call with his friends or playing video games during his free time. Instead, he could definitely read more often,” Lino Montes expressed. The generations that came before Generation Alpha often spent their free time reading books or stories, whether books were assigned to read in class or people chose to read them independently. Because of social media, Generation Alpha often thinks of reading as more of an obligation than a hobby.

Generation Alpha members don’t even care to associate themselves with reading anymore. For freshman Partha Katreddy, a part of Generation Alpha, technology and social media are way more interesting than reading . “Whenever I am on technology or social media, I feel happy. But reading really feels like a chore to me,” shared Katreddy. 

Members of the generation have been aware of the shift against reading themselves. “I definitely think that my generation likes social media more than reading,” said Katreddy.

Although there has been a visible decline in Generation Alpha reading rates, this trend does not have to endure. Parents and teachers can foster students’ interests in reading by introducing compelling books to students as well as promoting reading by having engaging conversations with students regarding students’ individual books and what they learned from them. In order for students to view reading as less of an obligation, schools can also choose to incorporate more relatable books into their curricula. The drop in reading, though, is not just specific to Generation Alpha; it shows a change in society where social media is consuming people of all ages, and this effect has affected Generation Alpha the most. Books are at risk of being completely replaced by social media in the near future unless society works together to restore the value of reading.