I used to read two novels a week, then I got a smartphone
A Moment of Honesty
A couple of weeks ago, I had the TV on, and the Finnish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was airing, hosted by Antti Holma—a famous Finnish actor and host. A young man was sitting in the participant's chair. A question about Finnish literature came up, and after using one lifeline, the young man chose the correct answer.
When Antti Holma asked about his reading habits, the young man’s brutally honest response stayed with me. “I used to read two novels a week, then I got a smartphone,” he said. Antti looked at him and replied, “You know... me too.”
The Decline of Literacy
That exchange was the most notable moment of the entire show. The participant was likely in his early twenties, the host in his forties. Members of two successive generations openly acknowledged a truth we all know but rarely admit: reading is in decline, and so is literacy.
In Finland, this decline is especially alarming. The drop in young people’s literacy ranks as the fifth largest globally, across all socio-economic groups and genders. Meanwhile, in the United States, college students are increasingly struggling with reading assignments that were once considered standard.
Why does literacy matter? Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, emphasizes the importance of reading long-form text:
In particular, reading long-form text, including books, is necessary for success in college, graduate school, and in many jobs. It’s also useful for understanding politics, policy, and parenting. Thus, if there have been changes in reading among young people, that has implications for education, the workforce, families, and for our democracy.
As the Finnish Reading Center highlights, one of the underlying causes for the decline of reading and literacy is our lost ability to focus, caused by always-on, always-connected smartphones and addictive online services like social media. Technology, once celebrated as a 'bicycle for the mind', now seems to erode literacy across industrialized nations.
Systemic Solutions to the Rescue?
One of this year's most significant books on this topic is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It explores how social media and smartphones contribute to rising anxiety and other challenges among young people. The book also offers a concrete, actionable plan for governments, schools, and parents.
Some of these actions are already being implemented globally. For example, some schools in France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Finland have introduced or are planning to introduce phone bans. More parents are also choosing not to buy smartphones for their first graders—opting instead for smartwatches or basic phones without internet access.
While Haidt focuses on systemic solutions, such as school phone bans, the issue of literacy requires a deeper look at habits formed at home. It's not just about smartphones in our kids' hands. It's about our own habits.
The Role of Parental Habits
As the Finnish Reading Center report states:
The most significant factor in the development of children’s literacy is the reading habits established at home. The importance that parents’ reading habits have for their children’s literacy has increased. Statistically, the more parents spend time reading at home, the more literate their children are.
Banning smartphones in schools won't solve the literacy problem if children never see their parents with a book. To raise literate kids, we need to show them that books are a meaningful part of daily life.
As a father to a 9-month-old daughter, I’m already considering the behaviors I want to model for her as she grows up, absorbing everything in her environment like a sponge. My goal is to ensure that when my child sees me staring at a smartphone, it’s for a well-defined, time-constrained task where the device is genuinely the best tool—whether that’s making a video call to grandma, checking directions, or booking a doctor’s appointment.
My phone is not on just to fill empty time. It's not an entertainment device. Those moments are better spent with a book (whether physical or digital), reflecting on my own thoughts, or—when she’s ready—having conversations with her.
A Moral Argument
On a related note, a 2021 paper in Journal of Applied Philosophy argues that our devices are having a detrimental effect on our autonomy because we often spend time in ways we don't intend. The authors propose that, based on a Kantian obligation to foster and safeguard autonomy, we have a moral obligation to be intentional about how and to what extent we use our devices.
I would add that we also have a moral obligation to raise literate children. Let’s aim to raise a generation that can proudly say: “I used to read two novels a week—now I read even more.”