• AnchoriteMagus@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    33% of high school graduates never read another book again in their lives after graduation.

    Let that sink in.

    228 million adults in the US, and 75 million of them are committed to never reading.

    Sounds a lot like the voting block for a certain orange fascist…

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      I’d say it’s probably a lot more in line with the ones who didn’t vote at all. I know everyone likes to say “conservative dumb,” but we’re all aware there are plenty of educated conservatives, probably just as many dumb liberals. The true dumb are the ones who sit out an election. That’s “I don’t read” dumb.

    • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 hours ago

      Seems like you’re adding “committed” into that stat. The people who will never read a book post high school aren’t doing so out of commitment but for a variety of reasons.

      It’s also silly to pretend book readers are inheriently better. I know a few magas that read books after high school. It’s all fantasy novels but they do technically read books.

    • ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip
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      1 hour ago

      I bet you more than 50% of teachers hear a fact like that and say “Well clearly we need to force them to read as much as possible while we can.” And that’s the real problem.

        • Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zip
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          6 hours ago

          Not sure if their comment is related / deliberate, but the image in the article is from the film Idiocracy

          In the film, the people of the future speak real slow and dumb. When they hear the time travelling protagonist speak in a vanilla US West Coast accent, the narrator describes them as thinking he sounds “Faggy and pretentious”, there are multiple points in the film where future-folk tell the main character “you sound like a fag”

          • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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            5 hours ago

            That’s right. They literally say “books are for fags” in the movie several times. It’s a direct quote.

        • DokPsy@lemmy.world
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          6 hours ago

          What I believe they mean is that the same people who’d use it as a demeaning slur and something to avoid are the same who would never touch a book after not being required to do so … And likewise vote for people who’s entire platform is fear mongering and hate towards the “other”.

      • AnchoriteMagus@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Yeah, but you’re not anti-book. It’s different if you just don’t have time / energy right now. There are literally millions of people who just…like, don’t believe in it.

        • X@piefed.world
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          3 hours ago

          “Uh, s-scuse me, all I see are screens, I’m just looking for something with some words in it.”

          “Words?”

          “Yeah.”

          “You mean like in the books!? What for?”

          “Just… to read.”

          “Heh heh heh heheheheh… heheheheh…”

    • unphazed@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      To be fair, I read little nowadays, but audiobooks where I can listen to seties while doing laundry, or trash, or DIY projects… I blasted through Cosmere 2 years ago, plus the Dresden series, Noobtown, DCC, Demon Mart, He Who Fights with Monsters last year, and this year (and past two months) the Wandering Inn series (Book 12 now). I enjoy books far more than film and tv, mostly due to speed at which I can devour the content (1.75x usually).