Reading: A Competition

 Reading is a hobby enjoyed by millions of people every day. There are many genres to choose from: fantasy, romance, nonfiction, and much more. A person's motivations for reading may vary. Some read for the fun, while others read to score higher grades on literacy tests or standardized tests like College Board's SAT exam. Right now, there are hundreds of millions of books sitting on library shelves, personal bookshelves, and desks; it seems as if reading was made for everyone. However, that is not the case.

Most people, even with access to education and a stable financial situation, do not choose to read. There are benefits to reading, though, so would not it make sense for most people to read? Reading has been shown to expand people's vocabulary, provide mental stability and stimulation, reduce stress, boost performance in school, and more. That's great and all, but it's not that people are blatantly ignoring the benefits of reading. Reading does not offer more incentives and provides less apparent benefits than other types of activities.

In today's increasingly globalized society where technology and human advancements have exponentially progressed, there are far more enjoyable and preferable activities for people to partake in instead of reading. People in the 18th and 19th centuries did not enjoy the same luxuries that Gen Zs, for example, do. There are video games, more efficient methods of travel, phones, and more. For most people, reading simply cannot keep up with the greater incentives that other types of activities prefer. After a long day of work, school, or sports practice, it's natural for a person to want to reward themselves for enduring a long period of no personal enjoyment. Again, for most people, that personal enjoyment is best fulfilled by doing something that is, unfortunately, not reading. I believe that incentives are truly a primary factor in a person's motivation for reading because even I need "hooks" to read. If I read a teacher-assigned passage, I should receive an A+ on a reading quiz. If there are pictures, then I can understand the plot developments better and create a stronger connection to the story. Furthermore, I love reading manga: Japanese comic books that are the source of many anime adaptations. I love it because there are thousands of detailed manga panels, and I believe a mangaka (author of a manga) can truly express their work much better than if they were to write a boring novel.