Voter interviews during our recent national election have drawn my attention to a staggering and accelerating decline in reading in America. Instead of acting on facts presented by books and objective news publications, many voters are acting on emotions, opinions and misinformation as presented in social media. And what should concern us the most is the fact that the precipitous declines — in both reading and writing — is occurring in our youngest age groups. To justify those statements, let’s examine a series of facts and the conclusions of a report on reading by the National Endowment for the Arts — titled “Reading at Risk.” The report is based on a 2002 U.S. Census survey requested by the organization. But first, here are the facts:More than 1,000 bookstores closed in the U.S. between 2000 and 2007, and hundreds more have closed since then. The number of independent bookstores in the U.S. dropped from 2,400 in 2002 to 1,900 in 2011.In just the past five years alone, magazine sales have declined significantly. In 2023 consumers spent 76% less on magazines than in 2019, and subscriptions dropped by 56%.The drop in newspaper readership has received a bit more attention as the number of daily newspapers has declined by nearly one-fourth — from 1,748 in 1970 to only 1,279 in 2018.But those figures don’t tell the whole story because many of those newspapers now publish one or two days a week less than what they had in the past. And their total number of pages also has dropped. In addition, it’s pertinent to note that those huge readership declines occurred during the same period that our population increased by more than one-third — from 203 million in 1970 to more than 330 million today. And even more significant are several conclusions in the “Reading at Risk” report from the Endowment for the Arts. They include:Less than half of the adult American population now reads literature.  The rate of decline is accelerating. The steepest decline is in the youngest age groups. The decline in literary reading foreshadows an erosion in cultural and civic participation.Researchers and experts also have determined that dwindling readership has contributed to less writing and poorer writing skills, which reveal corresponding declines in vocabulary, grammar and critical thinking development. That last category — critical thinking — is what concerns me the most. Reading encourages the critical thinking that is considered essential for crafting well-structured and insightful written arguments. Of course, it is not enough to report these sad results without questioning why. What are the causes? In everything I’m reading, three causes are indicated repeatedly — distraction prompted by television, video games and social media. Some sources also indicate changes in our educational system. But I suspect the greater problem may be the failure of parents to guide and control how our children spend their time. On behalf of parents, however, it must be noted that today’s prices and wages often prompt both parents to work, providing less guidance to their children. And it’s extremely difficult for single parents. In contrast, most folks my age were raised in a two-parent home with a single breadwinner. So with the current social media problems we face in developed countries, I applaud Australia for its utter boldness in enacting a law that effectively bans access to social media for anyone under the age of 16. And companies face penalties of as much as 60 million Australian dollars for failure to enforce that age limit.The goal is to protect young people from potential harm associated with excessive social media use, such as cyberbullying and mental health issues. Social media frequently has been cited as a cause of juvenile suicides. Australia’s law is appropriate simply because most juveniles and teenagers have not yet matured enough to deal with the various effects of social media. I liken it to the age limits for driving, and the age limits for voting and alcohol purchase. Most young people under those age limits simply aren’t mature enough to handle the related responsibilities. The age for obtaining a driver’s license in most states is 16 — but 18 in Europe. To purchase alcohol, it’s 21 in most states. Even the age for voting was 21 for much of our history. It was not lowered to 18 until after it was argued that 18-year-olds can be drafted into our armed services. Age limits are not new when maturity and responsibilities are involved. So I see no overriding reasons why we shouldn’t be setting an age limit for use of social media as well.  If we did, I suspect we might see some measurable increases in reading, writing and critical thinking — or at the very least, an end to the declines.And surely we would have more reading and critical thinking as preparation for plenty of written arguments to eliminate the ban.Darrell Berkheimer is a retired journalist whose career spans 60 years. He was city editor and news editor at The Daily Herald, Provo, during the 1970s and ’80s. He also filled newspaper editor positions in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico, and is the author of several essays books. Contact him at [email protected]. The post America’s slide toward ignorance appeared first on Park Record.