World News for Students of English

22-09-2026 15:00

International test results reveal a sharp decline in teenage reading skills across 91 countries since 2012. Experts argue that digital screens are transforming young readers into hasty readers or skimmers.

Because students read quickly on digital devices without allocating time and effort to complex comprehension, they fail to develop critical thinking skills. Furthermore, rising reliance on AI text generators like ChatGPT lets students skip essential writing processes, which further weakens the neural circuits required for deep reading and critical analysis.

This decline poses significant risks to democratic societies. Without strong reading skills, future voters become far more vulnerable to misinformation, demagoguery, and algorithmic control. However, experts emphasize that this trend can be changed. Countries like Estonia and Singapore successfully integrate technology in schools to support cognitive skills rather than passive consumption. Reversing the decline requires starting early by reading to children and establishing daily habits of reading challenging printed books.

Difficult words: hasty (hurried), skimmer (a person who reads through a text quickly to get the main idea without reading every word carefully), neural circuit (a population of interconnected neurons in the brain that work together to process information and carry out functions), demagoguery (political activity or speech that seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument).

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