People No Longer Read Apparently

I confirm your impressions. On the other hand, writing as much as you want the way you want filters the readers who are really interested, old or not.

I'm seeing it and am also guilty of it at times. Our brains have been rewired by all these streams of tidbits.

I conscioiusly try to read a book (or long articles) as much as I can to de-program myself ; ). I noticed it takes effort if it's been awhile to stay focused but it slowly comes back if I stick with it.

Ray

Interesting point of view... I'm not sure that I fully agree if my kids are any indications (anecdotal indications for sure... ). In social media space, where images take 95% of the space If people were reading closely with all the attention it requires, we would see better discussions, people are jumping at the guns in no time. But, it's another story.

The problem may actually be that people read too much.

Emails, social media, Google searches...

We actually read far more than past generations. So today's writers have to get to the point quick. Or find a way to hold attention.

What worked before doesn't work now. It is what it is.

The landscape has changed and we have to adapt—that's why I've been trying new tactics and formats lately.

Thanks for your comments... but I must admit that I find this a bit depressing... words convey things that no videos will ever be able to convey, in certain domains...

That's true. Sometimes I talk to intern students at my workplace (they are all in their 20's) about leisure activities these days, and none of them have reading as one of them. They say they can't focus long enough, and most of what they consume are videos online, TV series, movies, podcasts and social media scrolling. But they all say they wish they read more books.
I notice for myself that being exposed to short-form media on the internet (written or otherwise) has an effect on my ability to read for long periods of time.

Yep, can't read i get bored quick. But that is why i have enabled my speed reader in my brave browser so i can speed read...

I feel the same way. It's one of my concerns as I watch my kids grow up. We are all living in a distracted world. Just the act of reading for long periods of time, seems like a challenge for people nowadays.

I agree! I can see myself skipping over paragraphs after getting the gist of what the author is trying to communicate.