Atlantic writer warns of post-literate era as reading declines globally

In a recent interview on NPR's 1A, Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch discussed her article 'The End of Reading Is Here,' arguing that humanity is entering a post-literate era. She cited statistics showing that the share of Americans who read a book or article on any given day has dropped 40% in two decades, and gambling is now more popular than reading. Horowitch noted that even among those who still read, sentence length in New York Times bestsellers has shortened by a third compared to a century ago, and the New York Public Library's most popular offerings are young adult fiction, even among adults. She described Donald Trump as 'the first post-literate president,' pointing to his use of oral-culture techniques like epithets and self-contradiction. Horowitch referenced historical concerns about media shifts, including a 126-year-old Atlantic article worrying about newspapers and Plato's Socrates fearing writing would destroy memory. She highlighted bright spots: nearly two dozen U.S. states have banned cellphones during school hours, and a Dallas school district saw 200,000 more library books checked out after such a ban. Teachers report a backlash against excerpts and renewed emphasis on full books. Horowitch concluded by comparing the decline of reading to the Library of Alexandria, which historians now believe was lost not to war but to neglect, suggesting the choice to preserve reading culture remains ours.