Millennials were born into the best of technology and have seen it improve as they have grown up. Some people loved all the ways they could use it in their everyday lives and others didn’t.

But what ever happened to books? Well, most people would rather hear the words than read them. That’s why streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ are so popular. 

They provide every kind of visual entertainment for all ages and all MPAFRS (Motion Picture Association Film Rating System). 

Lakeland High School, like many other schools, has a library in the building. With a library inside the building, it gives the students who read something to explore during their 5 day a week school visit.

Someone could walk into the library and expect to see people looking around and maybe hoping to find a book, but most people in the newer generation, Gen Z, don’t read. 

“Generation Z” consists of people who were born from 1997-2015: 24-6 years of age. There are some people who read in their free time like Brelyn Ganske and Samuel Wilt just to do something. 

Samuel Wilt, a Sophomore at Lakeland High School reads because it “…wakes up his brain.” As much as Sam loves to play video games his free time at school consists of reading.

Reading isn’t uncommon throughout this generation, but it also isn’t very common either. With the advancement of technology that we’ve had over the years, people have become more and more lazy. 

Bethany Jensen, another Sophomore at Lakeland High School, loves to read because she states, “The authors write what’s going on in their head and it’s nice to experience what their thought process was. You really become a part of the story and in a way experience what the characters are going through.”

Technology has advanced to the point where we can order food or literally anything we can think of through an Alexa/Google Home with our own voice without even having to touch a device or even leave our current location.

The Kindle Fire Generation 1 was introduced in 2011 and at the time cost about $399. It was a device that enabled its handlers to download/buy books or anything readable, and allowed us to read wherever we wanted whenever we wanted.

Now, the Kindle Fire organization has been producing more Kindle books, but sadly not many people use them anymore. The last one was made in late 2015 and Amazon produced one in September of 2016.

People who read are extremely rare, and are most likely extremely difficult to find. But they are probably very smart and laid back people just like the rest of us.