'I never see youngsters reading'<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Publishers Association is currently holding this
\nyear's Book Fair, which lasts until Sunday. The association is
\nhopeful that the fair will encourage more people to read, a habit
\nthat seems to be severely lacking in Indonesia. Several people
\nspoke with The Jakarta Post about the issue.<\/p>\n
Rani, 21, in her final year at Trisakti University in West
\nJakarta, where she majors in accounting. She lives in Salemba,
\nCentral Jakarta, with her family:<\/p>\n
I think the poor service and complicated catalog systems at
\nlibraries discourage people from reading books. Libraries also
\ndon't have many new books and the books people are looking for
\nare sometimes missing from the shelves.<\/p>\n
The complicated process of borrowing books is another obstacle
\nto encouraging people to read.<\/p>\n
Also, I never see young people here reading books on buses or
\nin public places. Probably because buses and public places are
\nuncomfortable and unsafe, people are reluctant to read books
\nthere.<\/p>\n
And reading at home isn't easy for young people either.
\nPersonally, I find television and radio to be more appealing
\noptions.<\/p>\n
In addition to these obstacles, the education system here
\ndoesn't do anything to encourage reading.<\/p>\n
We should refer to Japan, which has becomes an advanced
\ncountry due in part to its people's reading habits.<\/p>\n
Gantoro, 34, is a marketing employee with a company in Radio
\nDalam, South Jakarta. He lives in Pamulang, Tangerang, with his
\nwife and daughter:<\/p>\n
Maybe people don't like reading because reading is boring and
\nunpractical as it wastes a lot of time.<\/p>\n
Also, all the new TV stations offering more entertaining
\nprograms also have something to do with the poor reading habits
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Television lets people get information easily without having
\nto waste a lot of time, as is the case with reading books.<\/p>\n
Personally, I read books when I was a child because I had to.
\nNow I don't read at all.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, reading could lead to introverted personalities
\nand make people uncreative, because readers focus only on books
\nwithout doing anything else.<\/p>\n
Success, I think, is determined not by one's reading habits
\nbut rather by chance, experience and self-determination.<\/p>\n
It would be useless if people read a lot of books but then did
\nnot persistent in real life to become successful.<\/p>\n
I don't encourage my child to read for fear she will be
\nintroverted and have to wear thick glasses when she grows up.<\/p>\n
Astuti, 32, is a teacher at Sekolah Global Jaya in Bintaro,
\nTangerang. She lives in Pondok Aren, Tangerang, with her husband
\nand two children:<\/p>\n
It's sad but I hardly ever see young people in public places
\ncarrying books or reading.<\/p>\n
Students generally spend their time at arcades, chatting,
\nsmoking or playing with their cellular phones, not reading books.<\/p>\n
Young people nowadays tend to take for granted instant
\ninformation from instant sources, like the television, or they
\njust prefer comic books. Instant culture is a very influential
\nfactor, in this respect.<\/p>\n
The language barrier might also be a factor in the poor
\nreading habits of people here, because usually the interesting
\nbooks are the imported ones.<\/p>\n
Local books have limited appeal to readers, and they are not
\nquite attractive.<\/p>\n
Most young people here now lack a sense of curiosity to
\nresearch different subjects and gain a deeper knowledge of them.<\/p>\n
Lots of the parents probably never read and they passed this
\non to their children by failing to set a good example for their
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
--Leo Wahyudi S<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/i-never-see-youngsters-reading-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }