Is Internet Reading Speeding Us Up by Dumbing Us Down?

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More and more kids spend long hours on the Internet.  At the same time, reading scores are declining. Is there a connection? Does the brain work differently with a book than with a computer?  What’s the impact on reading proficiency? Should schools recognize that young people are on the Internet and teach them how to use it well? Also, will Barack Obama be a special challenge for stand-up comedians? (This edition of To the Point will be pre-empted by holiday programming, but will be archived online.)

More and more kids spend long hours on the Internet.  At the same time, reading scores are declining. Is there a connection? Does the brain work differently with a book than with a computer?  What’s the impact on reading proficiency? Should schools recognize that young people are on the Internet and teach them how to use it well?  Also, after 8 years of George Bush jokes, what will comedians do with Barack Obama? (This edition of To the Point will be pre-empted by holiday programming, but will be archived online.)

From this Episode:

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producers:

Karen Radziner, Katie Cooper, Christian Bordal