The Impact of Social Media on the Reading Habit of the Youth

Abstract

In the recent decades the Social Media plays a pivotal role in the mass communication. A vast majority of Social Media users are youth. Thus most of the positive and negative impacts of Social Media usage fall on the youth. The amount of time allocated for internet usage of the youth has increased dramatically with the increase of latest Social Media networks and as a result the reading habit of the youth seems to be dramatically decreasing. This research intends to examine how the Social Media has influenced the reading habits of the youth. It is conducted through questionnaires and the interviews and thereafter the collected information is analyzed systematically to find the final result. It further investigates the negative impact of the youth by the social media on their reading habit. Reading is capable of enriching one’s intellectual capabilities and it develops insights into human problems and has a major impact on their attitudes towards society. Social media which is designed with the intention of promoting social connection seems to be not fulfilling its main objective by reducing the reading habit of the youth. Moreover the usage of modern abbreviations to communicate on the social media hinders the proper language acquisition and development which affect their basic language skills such as speaking, writing and reading comprehension. Owing to the rapid change or the update of content on social media sites the youth is not given a reasonable time to cultivate one particular thought and think about it analytically which again makes a negative impact on their intellectual and profound thinking habit which is an essential quality for a good personality which is mastered by reading books.