Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyR
I think reading pretty much has hit its nadir, but thanks to e-readers and smartphones, it's going back up.
I mean, a hundred years ago, everyone read. It was pretty much the popular form of entertainment. People also constantly wrote letters to each other, and so on.
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*Everyone* didn't read 100 years ago; books were expensive and there was a significant illiteracy rate (10% overall; almost 50% for blacks). Almost everyone in the middle class read (middle class would be upper middle class today; not a huge number of people). Most of these people could play a musical instrument as well, since buying sheet music and playing it at home was the only way to hear music at home.
Recorded music caused a serious decline in the number of people who could play an instrument; radio, movies, and especially TV caused a less serious decline in reading. (Although - relatedly - society has changed such that people have less free time than formerly - if you read Trollope, you'll notice that the people with office jobs are eating breakfast at 10 and getting to work at around 11 or 11:30...and staying until 6 or so - sometimes 7 if they are diligent; sometimes leaving even earlier).