Surprisingly, less than 15 minutes was the average daily reading time of teenagers aged 15 to 19 in 2022 (Statista). It is as if this generation as a whole has caught a disease called the lack of reading. Consequently, the side effects have begun rising to the surface and revealing itself over recent years. The genuine problem begins with the fact that people are oblivious to the seriousness of this issue. Therefore, this paper will discuss the low literacy skills as a result of the lack of reading, social media's influence, and why reading should be advised to all. 

This generation's low literacy skills are a problematic issue. Recently, one word became the center of attention on the internet in Korea: 심심한 사과. Kim, a reporter at JoongAng News, reported that after confusion regarding a book signing event, the author gave a 심심한 사과. 심심한 사과 translates to a sincere apology. However, 심심한 on its own translates to boring. Misinterpreting the sincere apology as a boring apology, many were ready to complain (2023). They criticized the author for being rude, only to later realize that they were mistaken. This shows how people are having a hard time understanding simple phrases and are quick to begin judging. What's more concerning is that these misunderstandings have repeated multiple times. For example, 사흘 is a word that is used to indicate three days. However, the word 사, which directly translates to four, initiated confusion. A reporter at MBC, one of the top three broadcasting systems in Korea, explained the story behind the conflict. The Government declared a 사흘 holiday, but individuals who thought 사흘 meant four days were baffled because the calendar showed only three days as a holiday. Similar to the 심심한 사과 incident, people were not hesitant to argue. 

Low literacy skills can be explained by social media's influence. With technology advancing even faster than ever, the necessity of paper books or newspapers has diminished. Additionally, the great expansion of social media explains this shift. According to Dr. Ghanney at the University of Education in Ghana, upon asking a student where his or her primary source of information was, the student answered, "Facebook is my source of information. People give me updates on current trends of issues." Another student's answer seems to be even more concerning, "Information sent across WhatsApp and Facebook are always genuine" (2017). This study shows teenagers heavily relying on social media, which usually consists of short text and videos, potentially making it more difficult to interpret longer and more complex text. 

To resolve the problem of low literacy skills, reading should be recommended for all. The Markham Public Library (MPL) explains that a reader's constant exposure to new vocabulary results in vocabulary improvement (2020). Therefore, the reader can utilize the expanded knowledge of vocabulary to understand better when reading or enhance the quality of writing in the future. This relates to the 심심한 사과 incident. If people had been aware of the definition of 심심한 사과 beforehand, perhaps the misunderstanding could have been avoided. In addition, MPL states that more reading opens the reader's eyes to a diverse spectrum of writing styles (2020). By being aware of the various styles of writing, the reader could find the style of writing most comfortable for him or her, or possibly even alternate between multiple styles.

In summary, the world desperately needs to realize the value of reading. This realization is crucial because the consequences of the lack of reading, as well as its benefits, are innumerable. Reading is essential in so many aspects of life, which is what makes the current generation’s situation even more concerning. Although the disease of the lack of reading is spreading rapidly, there is one simple and rather obvious cure: reading.

Works Cited

Kim, Hyeon-Jeong. [우리말 바루기] 심심찮은 사과 말고 심심한 사과를. 중앙일보, 2023.  joongang.co.kr/article/25144108#home. Accessed 30 November 2023.

Shin, Kyung-Min. [와글와글] "3일 연휴인데 왜 사흘?" 또 문해력 논란. MBC 뉴스, 2023.  imnews.imbc.com/replay/2023/nwtoday/article/6480419_36207.html. Accessed 4 December 2023.

Top 10 Benefits of Reading for All Ages. Markham Public Library, 2020. markhampubliclibrary.ca/blogs/post/top-10-benefits-of-reading-for-all-ages/. Accessed 7 December 2023.

Watson, Amy. Average reading time per day U.S. by age 2022. Statista, 2023. statista.com/statistics/412454/average-daily-time-reading-us-by-age/. Accessed 4 December 2023.