In today’s world, people spend more time staring at screens than reading books. The decline of reading culture raises serious questions. What is causing people to turn away from books? Is it the Internet, social media or something else? How can people be encouraged to read again?
Author Favour Omar said nowadays, people prefer watching or listening to things on social media.
She added that most authors cling to old ways of writing because they do not want to explore new ideas that can move with time.
Said Omar: “As an author, you need to advertise and do marketing.
“The more noise you make in advertising, the more your books sell.
She, however, said book reading is important because it transforms lives, educates people and entertains readers.
Another author, Michael Chauya, said the rise of digital content and platforms has made it easier for people to get access to books, particularly eBooks.
“Social media has increased the reading culture because people read on social media every day. I cannot also fail to mention that digital content is rendering hard papers useless. People are preferring eBooks,” he added.
Chauya explained that many people and families stopped encouraging the reading culture among the younger generations because they priotie other things like dressing.
“Reading is not promoted among African communities,” he added.
Chauya also noted that creating book clubs can help revive the spirit of reading.
Nalikule University of Education librarian Leonard Chiwaya said the decline in reading books among students impacts their appreciation of literature.
“It reduces their exposure to complex languages and ideas. This is because books often present complex language, diverse vocabulary and nuanced ideas that challenge readers to think deeply. Without regular reading, students miss out on these opportunities, leading to weaker language skills,” he said.
Chiwaya added that the practice also weakens their analytical skills because reading literature requires critical thinking, interpretation and analysis.
“Students who read less may lack exposure to the diversity and historical context and historical influences in literary works,” he said.
Chiwaya said during work time in the library, there is a shift in students’ interest in literary works.
“This reduces the acquisition budgets for the literature related information resources. The library allocates fewer resources to purchase both printed and digital literary works, resulting into a drop in demand” he said.
“This leads to collection weeding for the literary books because library often use circulation data to guide collection maintenance that lead to removal of lesser used literary books,” he added.
Chiwaya explained that printed books play a pivotal role in helping students appreciate storytelling and creative expression. It also deepens connection with language and imagery.
“Physical books carry a cultural and historical symbolism as vessels of knowledge and storytelling. Their presence on a shelf or in a library speaks to the value placed on literature for centuries,” he added.
Social work student at the University of Malawi (Unima) Myra Katsabola said she used to love reading books, but nowadays, it takes much time to finish the book.
“Nowadays, I spend more time on social media, TikTok, especially because it is what I am getting used to,” she said.
Katsabola also said when it comes to academic, social media is the best literature when you want to refer things that you want to learn in class.
“Many books have knowledge which cannot be defeated by social media. But it is good to balance the two because time is changing,” she said.
She added that reading books is still valuable because one can have a background knowledge.
