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Schule > Englisch > Ausarbeitungen, Interpretationen und Zusammenfassungen > Point of View (Standpunkt) > Editorial: Reading in the 21st century

Writing an Editorial: The importance of reading literature in the 21st century

The question of the importance of reading literature is a very big topic in the 21st century. Many people think reading is not contemporary nowadays because you have many other ways to get your information and entertain yourself. But is reading really just about entertainment and education?

First of all, reading literature is a good way to learn from the author's experience. You get knowledge of other kind of views from other people with other experiences and ways of living. That can help you for example to make decisions or maybe change your view on a topic.

On the other hand there is a very huge development refer to technologies (especially the internet). There are so many ways to inform yourself about every topic you are interested in or want to know something about. That's why reading is just not contemporary anymore. Nowadays there are so many options that there is just no need to read in everyday life.

But even if you can use the internet for whatever you want, reading also practices the correct spelling of words and sentence structure, what is essential in your further life. Whatever you do, you will always need to write anything and reading also broadens one's vocabulary what will make you look serious, competent and educated. Of course you can use the internet for this too, but you will always need more time and never have the same opportunities of writing texts or talking to people you would have if you read literature.

Reading also confronts you with new ideas and enhances your imagination. If you watch films to know what for example a book is about, what is a way easier and faster than reading, you will know what happened in the book and maybe learn form the story, but you can't use your imagination to really know about the feelings and intentions of the characters. Inner monologues for example are almost impossible to use in movies without making them wired.

But the most important is the fun of reading. If you just don't like reading and will be forced to read literature, you will like it less and less and maybe won't even see the positive things about it. Of course there are many other ways to entertain yourself that reading literature, but if you try to get into it, maybe you'll see that it isn't that boring you thought and maybe helps you relaxing.

In summary, it can be said that reading literature in the 21st century is generally a really good thing. Even if you have a lot of other opportunities, reading has some important and unique advantages that cannot be replaced by anything else. But if you are really not into reading, it is not very useful to force yourself or be forced to do it. But you should at least give it a chance and try to get involved.

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