ISLAMABAD: Use of mobile phone is significantly increasing and decreasing book reading habit among writers, poets, intellectuals, authors, students and others.
Talking to APP, Assistant Professor Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur, Dr Sahib Khan said people, especially students used to read books, newspapers, thesis and other material by using the internet on cell phones rather than opting for hard copies and same has badly affected book reading habit.
He said that people belonging to every age are found busy with messages, texts, and tweets by using Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media networking Apps. It has promptly decreased the habit of book reading among its lovers. He said book reading makes a person able to talk to others with logic, evidence, proof and solid imagination. He said, “Read books then words will come into the reader’s mind like flood.”
Advice to readers on mobile phone
Poet, Khalid Ahmed Tyagi was of the view that young people were wasting precious time and money by using mobile phones as they are not focusing on studies and examinations. He urged the youth to read books, and poetic verses which would teach them the dynamic ways of talking and postures. Reading study material on smartphones was leading to poor comprehension and understanding among the readers compared to reading the books.
Managing Director of the National Book Foundation, Dr Raja Mazhar Hameed said the foundation provide more conducive and enriched supportive academic environment to the authors either writing for children, school and college-going students or at the university level. He said, “Our moderate prices of textbooks and general books never impact our publishing.”
A shopkeeper selling the books at a stall in Saddar Rawalpindi said that people were showing less interest in purchasing books from stalls compared to the past. Before the emergence of mobile phones, he had sold almost 400 books on weekends but now readers were purchasing around 40 books. Reading books would give readers massive knowledge to compete in the world and also teaching ways of talking and postures. Intellectuals always considered books as one of their friends in solitude and a room without books was a body without a soul. — APP
