Friday night is when fragments of students’ late nights throughout the week coalesce and that accumulated fatigue weighs down on them. Despite that, the prospect of not having school the next day is enticing. Student A sits on their bed, plugs into their Netflix account, and binge-watches episodes of a popular show to relax. Student B snuggles into their covers, opens a thick novel, and immerses themselves into a new world to relax. Unfortunately, Student B’s ability to read for pleasure could be considered a dying art form.

The percentage of 17-year-olds who do not read for pleasure has doubled in the past twenty years, and by the time these 17-year-olds are college seniors, one in three do not read a single thing for pleasure in any given week, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Many students have turned away from reading for pleasure, viewing it as an arduous chore that they already get enough of at school.

The pent up pressure and stress causes students to find easy fixes to relax–something reliable like television. As students overcome the hurdles of high school, a connection with reading for pleasure seems to disappear. It is not easy to forge a bond with reading if it has been neglected for so long, especially when fast forms of entertainment become heavily integrated into students’ everyday lives. Ms. Courey, AP Language and Composition teacher, eloquently stated, “It’s obvious that reading has declined because the video game and online age has ascended. As I recall from an article I once read, even the ability to watch uninterrupted narratives helps to build the concentration skills required to become a fluent reader.”

Many students have lost an ability to focus along with a deep yearning to pick up a book and devour it. Research conducted by Anne E. Cunningham and Kaith E. Stanovich has found that it develops cognitive abilities, including focus and wit. A novel’s plot engages the reader’s entire mind to process and digest the story. The more a person reads, the more they hone and develop their focus. Ms. Courey added, “Even if students read directions on a video game or text messages or blurbs online from ‘Bob’s Home Page,’ they no longer read for long periods of time; they seem unable to sustain their attention long enough to read a book.”

Another study, “Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain,” published in the journal Brain Connectivity, stated that reading engages the left temporal cortex, which deals with language and its neurons are associated with embodied cognition. Embodied cognition, according to Psychology Today, “tricks the mind into thinking it is doing something it is not,” or puts the reader into the character’s shoes, which not only can transport the reader out of a position of stress, but it boosts mood and improves empathy levels.

It is to attain these mental benefits that many parents encourage their children to read, or read to them. In a time where there are more televisions than people in America, Wilcox Biology teacher, Ms. Slate, stressed the importance of reading aloud to her children, “The more you read to your kid, the easier reading will be for them when they become older, and therefore school is easier. It isn’t just about reading aloud, it’s also talking about the reading…What I’ve noticed now is that they refer back to the story that they read and they make connections.”

However, it takes more than a few statistics and the urging of parents to get a child to read. For many readers, there are influential figures or particular reasons that compel them to visit their local library or bookstore. Mr. Dewester, an English teacher at Cabrillo Middle School, once said, “It may not necessarily be that kids hate reading. Maybe they haven’t found the right story for them.” Exploring genres of literature and authors that appeal to you and getting recommendations from avid readers can lead to a stronger desire to read for pleasure.

Now, for the hardest part, pushing yourself to find a comfy spot in your house—or any spot at all—and actually read the book of your choosing. There are certain times of the day where one can squeeze in a rendezvous with a book. For example, you may have time during SSR or after school to schedule in a chapter of reading a day. When this reading time becomes a habit, you may find yourself being able to read for longer periods of time without mindless distractions. Ms. Courey recommends reading “for at least twenty minutes before going to bed instead of watching videos or staring at the computer or phone screen.” Thus, the end goal can be achieved: relaxing and opening the gates of your imagination to a mystical world.