At MyCorporation, reading is one of our favorite pastimes. Even if it’s not your cup of tea, you probably don’t realize how many times during the day you read! The cereal label, the TV guide, traffic signs and email are all examples of how much reading influences our lives. In addition, social media has changed the face of reading in that we now have access to vast amounts of information displayed in a simple sentence. Although we usually sing social media’s praises, has the new snapshot based information model taken away from our love of reading? Does it matter?
Literacy statistics in America are extremely telling. For example, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that more than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems. According to the National Department of Education, from 1983-2001, more than 10 million Americans reached the 12th grade without having learned to read at a basic level. In the same period, more than 6 million Americans dropped out of high school altogether. Why does this matter? Research suggests that low literacy rates correlate with higher crime rates.
We’re definitely not suggesting that reading your Twitter feed will lead to increased criminal behavior. However, we are saying that reading is important! This begs the question, is shortening our news stream to 140 characters a positive or a negative? The benefits of having access to a large amount of information in a compact and streamlined format are clear. In fact, we would argue that Twitter provides access to more knowledge than traditional newspapers; with the click of a button you can get information from Fox News, The New York Times and Al Jazeera!
While the efficient access to knowledge is amazing, we want to remind you to click on the link every once and a while and actually read the entire story! You know what they say, reading is knowledge and knowledge is power.
To help you get started, we are offering a free Kindle! Just like our iPad giveaway, all you have to do is head over to our Facebook page, click Like, and you are immediately entered to win! Plus becoming a fan of our page is a great way to hear about our other promotions and follow any newsworthy stories we post.
We will do the drawing at the end of the year so be sure to like us and check your Facebook pages at the end of December. In the meantime, we wish you luck and happy reading!