READERS AND SOCIETY TODAY

Reading has at all times and in all ages been a great age of knowledge. Today the
ability to read is highly valued and very important for social and economic
advancement. In today’s world with so much more to learn and also the need for
a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has
increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there
was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. In the
nineteenth century, Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so
in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud but, today we not only read,
we also want to read more and more catch up with the events taking place
around us.
Reading is important all the time but in today’s society reading is more important
in the 21st century. But why reading is important in today’s society? It has several
fundamental reasons. The current time is the most competitive time ever. This
competition is a competition of knowledge, a competition of skills, a competition
of survival in real life. If a runner falls behind for a moment in a race, his defeat is
fairly certain. Similarly, if we stop reading for a short time, we will fall behind in
our perspective fields.
In order to remain one’s existence in today’s society to established one unique
identity, and to promote oneself to a higher level of social status, reading is not
only essential but also is a must.
Whoever has as much knowledge, whoever has a large store of information
whose skill is much more is useful to the present society.
Reading, basically, the book reading is the only way to achieve these things
because we have to read to acquire knowledge, we have to read to acquire skills,
we have to read to know the information. Reading stimulates the right side of our
brain and widens our imagination. It literally opens our mind to new possibilities
and new ideas help us experience and analyze the world through the lives of
others.