Is The West Becoming 'Post Literate?'
The West is becoming 'post literate' as younger people are unable to absorb even short essays or books due to decreasing attention spans. This trend is attributed to the rise of short-form videos and social media, which has led to a decline in reading and critical thinking skills. As a result, university professors are struggling to teach complex subjects like history, which rely heavily on reading and analysis.
- ▪Many high schoolers are not assigned books to read and are unable to make it through an entire novel by the time they get to college.
- ▪College students are complaining about being assigned reading and are instead asking for short lectures or videos.
- ▪The decline of literacy has significant implications for the development of critical thinking skills and the preservation of knowledge.
- ▪University professors are saying they are unable to teach history due to students' inability to read long books and passages.
- ▪The situation is desperate, with some professors despairing at the fact that this generation of students is becoming functionally illiterate.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Is The West Becoming 'Post Literate?' David Strom 12:00 PM | July 10, 2026 AP Photo/Saurabh Das These days, just about everybody can read, at least a little. Well, unless they went to an urban public school in, say, Chicago. Then all bets are off. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display("div-gpt-300x250_4"); //googletag.pubads().refresh([gptAdSlot["div-gpt-300x250_4"]]) }); But what younger people can't do is READ, as in absorb even a short essay, no less a book. Attention spans used to be measured in hours, then in minutes, and now in seconds.
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