'Reading habits of our society poor'
With its population of 215 million people, Indonesia only publishes about 6,000 new titles of books a year. This is far fewer than the 10,000 new titles that are published annually in neighboring Malaysia for its population of 24.5 million. One of the reasons behind this gloomy fact is the public's poor reading habits. The Jakarta Post asked several residents what they thought about this issue.
Ika, 23, is an employee at a research institution in Tebet, South Jakarta. She lives in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta with her family:
I think the reading habits of the nation in general are at a low level compared to neighboring countries.
There are usually not many assignments for students to read a lot of books to motivate them to develop a reading habit.
New TV stations competing with each other for larger audiences also affect the public's poor reading habits.
By watching TV, viewers can get immediate information rather than by reading, which is relatively time-consuming.
In this case, I try hard to keep up my reading, at least by just reading newspapers and magazines.
But I've also learned that poor reading habits have a lot to do with economic stability. People who earn a low income have to spend all their time just trying to get by rather than reading books.
Dewi, 32, is an English instructor at a private English course in Tangerang, Banten. She lives in Tangerang with her family;
I think that the reading habits of our society are poor. I regret the lack of education that is apparent from early childhood within the family.
As a matter of fact, reading habits in the family could help boost communication between parents and children.
It could bring family members even closer together. Children could also learn to express their opinions clearer or ask for their parents' opinions. At least, that's what I experienced during my childhood.
Unfortunately, many parents think that sending their children to school is enough. They ignore the importance of nurturing a love for reading within their children.
Besides, the high price of books also affects our nation's reading habits. Let alone those suffering economic hardship, people think that survival is far more important than reading books.
Television programs have also made the situation worse for many children who prefer to spend long hours in front of the TV.
Shopping malls and entertaining programs on TV are far more distracting for children and to everyone else in general.
Guritno, 34, is an assistant editor for a publication in Depok, West Java. He lives in Pancoran, South Jakarta, with his wife and two children:
Reading is not yet a well-established habit for many people in the country. That's partly the reason why the country has been stuck in the prolonged crisis. Both the leaders and the people lack the proper knowledge that could be gained from reading.
We have a bountiful supply of reputable human resources, but the poor education system has rendered them useless.
In short, the country's crises are not only caused by economic factors but by poor education.
There are also less writers willing to write books, which explains why there are less books published in the country.
People's purchasing power is also still low. The monopoly of the publication and paper industries has also been an influential factor.
It is sad to admit that the country has been left far behind in terms of the knowledge in neighboring countries.
Personally, I am never far from a book because my profession requires me to do a lot of reading. Fortunately, I enjoy reading so it's not burdensome for me.
I think that education, along with reading habits, should be developed in a bid to become a better nation.
-- Leo Wahyudi S