As a blogger I can’t help but support reading online,  it pays the bills but it also gives me access to content I may never have found before the internet got to be so popular. I do however enjoy sitting down in a comfy chair with a non-electronic book at least once a day and indulging in reading the old fashioned way. Thus, it was with great intrigue that I sat down this morning (at my computer) to read a New York Times article entitled “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?”

The article gives some personal examples of young folks who have made the internet their preferred reading material before getting into the heart of the arguement:

As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.

But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write. [NYTimes]

As with most things, I think moderation and variety are the answer. Spend some time taking advantage of the internet but make sure to save some time each day to engage with a tangible book (after all we don’t want to end up like the folks in Wall-E, always attached to our screens).

There was one section of the article that actually got me pretty upset and unfortunately it came from the pro-Internet folks:

Few who believe in the potential of the Web deny the value of books. But they argue that it is unrealistic to expect all children to read To Kill a Mockingbird or Pride and Prejudice for fun.

Now that’s just silly. Of course we can and we should. Both of those books are not only important but also they are extraordinary stories, full of amazing characters and important life messages. They are also both extremely entertaining. If our youth can’t sit down and concentrate long enough to read “To Kill a Mockingbird” without being forced, then perhaps we need to rethink where we’re headed with this internet thing…

Like I said, I love the internet, the thing is I may love the experience I had reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” more. Luckily, I live in a world where both are possible. So let’s continue to use the internet (because it is awesome) but please please please let’s not forget how awesome books are!

takepart to learn how Book It is still encouraging kids to read (albeit by offering them pizza, but hey a little pizza never hurt anyone…)

Read on:

• Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
• Does reading on the internet count as reading?
• Scoble Defends Blogging (Again), and He’s Right (Again)

*photo by melissann