Dana Gioia On The Importance Of Reading Essay

Is reading important? Or is it just something school and work has made mandatory? Dana Gioia’s On the Importance of Reading says that reading is very significant and in fact, very beneficial to society. Many young adults would disagree, however, and say that reading is not crucial to them and reading is simply something they have to do throughout their school careers, but no longer dabble in after graduation. This outlook is reflected in national surveys, the number of literary non-readers in the United States is starting to outweigh the number of readers and, this has slowly been proceeding over the past 20 years (Gioia 421). Reading is a fundamental part of life. It’s a major way of expression, imagination, learning and being the best person

Not reading has many negative consequences associated with it. Studies have proven that unlike readers, non-readers are less empathetic and understanding of others feelings and perspectives on the world. It is very likely that those who do not read will not be nearly as enthusiastic or willing to volunteer and be a part of their community. Non-readers are very passive in comparison to those who do in fact read (Gioia 423). People who do not read are less focused and often fill their days with readily made media like smart phones, television, movies, and video games. These people do not think, expand their minds, or act for themselves. These non-readers consume what is fed to them through the media and nothing else. They do not think on their own or, share their ideas because they have not expanded their minds to think and imagine things on their own. This type of submissive, passive behavior is no good for a democratic society (Gioia 423). If this type of behavior continues, America will likely lose its democracy and replace it with a dictatorship. The American people have been fed what they want to hear for years, and never think to question