Growing up, I can vividly recall the pleasure I got from taking a book with me to family dinners, sneaking pages while the grown-ups were immersed in their (to me) boring conversations.
Today, it seems to be much more common to see kids clutching their iPads (or various other devices), engrossed in their Candy Crush game.
With the rapidly increasing technological developments that have occurred over the past couple decades, this isn’t really surprising. After all, as our world evolves, so do we. And of course, technology has helped us evolve in positive ways. For instance, we can communicate more efficiently; we can provide more accessible education; and we can obtain information faster.
But, at the same time, it’s important to address the other side of the coin. That is, how might technology be hindering our progress?
As it seems, literacy among U.S. children is, and has been, decreasing. And it’s hard to disregard technology as a factor here.
Child literacy was declining before COVID-19
You’ve probably read (or at least seen headlines) about how children still haven’t recovered from pandemic-related learning losses. And while this is true, it’s important to articulate the reality of the situation—which is that literacy was declining even before the pandemic.
In fact, results from national and international exams in 2019 found that reading performance among American students was on the decline, in turn widening gaps between high and low performers. Specifically, almost two-thirds of U.S. students were unable to read at grade level prior to the pandemic.
Admittedly, COVID-19 did set us back. According to McKinsey & Company, U.S. students lost the equivalent of nearly half a school year in reading instruction due to the pandemic. In 2022, reading scores dropped to levels that we haven’t seen since 2005. And the average reading score for fourth- and eighth-graders dropped by three points, as compared to scores from 2019.
Even in the state that ranks the highest for reading, Massachusetts, reading scores dropped on state tests in the spring of 2021, as compared to scores from 2019.
The bottom line: the increasing illiteracy is real.
Why is child literacy declining?
Socioeconomic issues
One of the major reasons for illiteracy is simply a lack of resources, or access to those resources. Specifically, children living in poverty face unique challenges in receiving the necessary resources to improve their reading skills.
Child illiteracy disproportionately affects certain groups—specifically, children who are Black, Hispanic, disabled, from low-income backgrounds, or not fluent in English. So the result, then, is that illiteracy widens the already-existing gaps between certain groups of students.
Currently, over eleven million children in the U.S. are living below the federal poverty line. And according to Reading Is Fundamental, eighty percent of children living in economically disadvantaged communities lose reading skills over the summer due to lack of access to books and other resources. Evidently, to supplement the work they do in school and maintain their learning gains, these students require support over the summer.
To narrow the achievement gaps between children of low SES and their affluent peers, it’s thus critical that schools put more of their resources into supporting students who face unique barriers to reaching their academic potential.
At My Private Professor, we’re trying to do our part. We offer a sliding scale in order to accommodate all students and follow our mission of uplifting as many students as possible.
In addition, through our “giveback-back” business model, with every tutoring hour, we earmark funds to support students experiencing homelessness or in long-term foster care.
Shorter attention spans
As we collectively learn how to navigate in an increasingly technological world, there’s one uncomfortable truth we must acknowledge. And that is the fact that, unless you make conscious efforts to maintain and sharpen your attention span, it may shrink.
We’re constantly bombarded with notifications. This has led us to more frequently “multitask” (which is really just switching from task to task). This, consequently, forces us to use up more cognitive energy. As a result, we lose focus. And the research confirms this.
Psychologist and professor Gloria Mark has been studying attention spans for a couple decades. In 2004, she started her research, tracking how long people could focus on a screen before looking away.
The average amount of time participants spent focusing on a screen, in 2004, was around 120 seconds. But by around 2012, this had dropped to seventy-five seconds. In the last few years, Mark has reported that this number has dropped to around forty-seven seconds.
As research continues to confirm, digital distractions can significantly hinder our productivity and ability to focus for sustained periods of time.
But that certainly doesn’t mean that you’re doomed! You can still indulge in your TikTok scrolling and your Love Island binge sessions. But if you’re committed to taking more control over your attention span, you need to be more intentional about your media intake.
Specifically, allocating certain times for scrolling and watching is much better for your focus than constantly going back and forth.
With more attention comes more potential to improve your literacy skills. And this is due to the simple fact that when you are more capable of focusing on something for an extended period of time, you have a greater chance of making progress.
Increased distractions
During the pandemic, I read so many articles about the importance of self-care during such a chaotic time. And in these articles, one thing that I kept seeing was the importance of taking breaks (I was a student during this time).
But this information can seem contradictory when you also read about how distractions can harm our focus and performance.
The truth of the matter is that we do need breaks. We need to take breaks to avoid burnout and recharge the mind and body. But taking intentional breaks is not the same thing as indulging in constant distractions.
Indisputably, we live in a world full of distractions. Text messages, Instagram notifications, news headlines…
When it comes down to it, it takes a lot more effort to eliminate distractions than to cede to them.
But regularly surrounding yourself with distractions can significantly hinder your ability to focus for periods of time. And what is reading? Focusing.
Try it out. Remove all things that distract you, and try to focus. Keep in mind that this will be challenging and even uncomfortable if you’re used to having distractions around you. But in time, you may see that you’re getting more done and making fewer errors.
Teacher shortages
Even while students have largely gone back to in-person school, teacher shortages are prevalent. In fact, last year, almost half of public schools reported full- or part-time teaching vacancies, according to the NCES.
Lack of science-backed reading instruction
Over the past couple of years, something called ‘the science of reading’ has caught our attention. What it is, in a nutshell, is a substantial mass of research on what’s most effective when it comes to reading instruction.
This research, ultimately, has found that children need phonic-based instruction when learning how to read. Phonics instruction teaches students about the relationships between the letters and sounds in written and spoken language.
Far before the pandemic, people were pushing for students to receive more reading instruction based on this science. It’s seemingly been a somewhat rocky road—but it’s definitely encouraging to see that schools are more widely beginning to implement this type of reading instruction.
The impacts of child illiteracy
As is the case with most widespread issues, child illiteracy doesn’t only impact children. Because really, we’re all connected. There’s those of us, now out of school, who have jobs and use the skills we learned in school. And then there are current students, in school, who later come to join us. 
When we don’t empower our students to have the necessary skills to provide value to the world, we’re not doing our job. And this hurts everyone.
The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, eighty-five million low-wage, low-skill jobs could disappear globally due to automation. And further, it anticipates the arrival of ninety-seven million new jobs that will require more “soft skills” (critical thinking, problem solving, communicating, etc.), to which literacy is fundamental.
According to the World Literacy Foundation, illiteracy could cost the U.S. economy up to $1.19 trillion.
At a time where the workforce seems to be constantly fluctuating, nurturing fundamental skills is incredibly important.
So by helping children gain fundamental literacy skills, we’re empowering them to develop necessary skills for navigating their future careers.
In addition, research has found that higher literacy skills have a powerful impact on children’s later lives in other profound ways. For example, a study from the OECD found a correlation between higher literacy rates and trust in others, political efficacy, participation in volunteer activities, and health (self-reported).
Final thoughts
When it comes down to it, literacy can impact every aspect of a student’s life. Beyond school, literacy affects how students navigate the workforce, achieve financial independence, and manage health issues.
More than this, without the ability to read, you inevitably miss out on so many incredible stories, whether fiction or nonfiction. Consequently, you miss out on chances to expand your perspective and grow.
As truly social creatures, we have a need to bond and connect with others. And the key ingredient for this to successfully happen is communication.
As our world becomes more and more technologically-connected, we will increasingly have a need to communicate with one another.
Without literacy, how can we do this?
