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Listening is not reading. There is nothing snobby about that -- it's simply a fact. Listening and reading engage the mind differently; they are different skills.
You can certainly listen to a book and participate in a discussion about the book equally as well as someone who actually read it. It's an equally valid way to consume the book.
I worry about literacy decline across the population and, yes, that's firghtening. This thread has been, in part, about a "writer" who claims no interest in reading and it certainly shows in his disregard for the niceties of spelling and grammar. One example he cited: if he spells London as "Lindon", well, that's the reader's problem if he can't figure out what the author meant.
If your communication skill set devolves to one that is oral based, that's a longer term problem. You cannot learn to write by listening: you need to read.
Fluency in reading -- something that does not come from listening -- is vital to individuals and to society if we are going to remain reasonably civilized. Our public discourse -- including elected officials (federal, state and local) -- is hampered if those elected and those electing cannot read well and do not obtain (or bother with) the skills to communicate clearly and logically. Reading is a cornerstone of informed democracy.
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