Reading is one of the biggest terms associated with students. However, with every passing day, I hear complaints like, “I don’t just feel like reading anymore”.
So many students have lost the zeal to read. This reading challenge is not exclusive to university or secondary school students alone; it is multi-dimensional.
I will try to make this article very broad so as to meet the demand of every student irrespective of their level or background.
If you have gotten to a point where reading no longer interests you, then you are not alone.
The fact that picking up a book to study is becoming more difficult to you with every passing day does not make you abnormal. Rather, time and chance happen to everything.
Recommended: How to read and understand
You cannot change the time or season; time is not a handset but an asset. However, you can change what happens to you as a function of time and season.
At this point, one question comes to mind, “What is taking the reading ability away from students?” That’s an interesting question. It is true that nothing happens without cause and effect.
The causes of reduced interest in studying could either be natural or artificial. I will explain the natural and artificial causes of lack of interest in studies.
Natural Causes Of Low Reading Interest
The natural causes of low interest in reading are those that you really did not cause and cannot be held responsible for. They occur as a result of:
1. Long break:
If you go on a long vacation without studying, there is a chance that at some point, you will lose interest in reading.
This is in accordance with the law of use and disuse. The law of use and disuse, in a layman’s language, states that what you do all the time becomes part of you.
2. Next level:
For every level, there is a new devil. The higher you go, the lower the interest in studies. For exam, the zeal to study is usually very high in year one. Around your third year of study, it dies totally.
It takes powerful self-motivation and articles like this to boost your reading habit in year three. On the other hand, the appetite to read reduces (with few exemptions) as you move from one class to another in high/secondary school.
3. Quality of content:
The quality of lectures you receive has role to play in influencing your interest in reading. Trust me, there are teachers/lecturers that can naturally kill your interest in studies.
This factor has more impart in secondary school students. This is as a result of the fact that the teachers serve as their second parents. They are influenced by the quality of teachers they have.
On the other hands, quality of content from lecturers should have low effect on you as a University student. This is due to the fact that you are expected be able to motivate and teach yourself. The university is more of lectures than teaching.
4. Combination of Work and Study:
It is not easy for a student to study and work at the same time, because after being exhausted in their job they still need to go to face their studies at night. This is one of the reasons why I wrote the golden tips on how to last longer studying at night.
The pressure you face combining work and studies can make you want to give up your interest in studies. This is also a natural cause of low interest in studies.
5. Bullying:
I told you earlier that I am going to be broad; so do not be surprised.There are lots of cases of bullying these days. Bullying is a type of bad manner that is very harmful and intentional. It affects physical and mental development and as well loses of self confidence.
Examples of physical bullying are kicking, punching, slapping and anything that can hurt a person. There are also types of mental bullying like insulting, teasing or saying bad things to others.
This can make Primary and junior secondary school students lose interest in reading. You may be asking now, how is it a natural cause of low interest in studies? It is an external influence.
Read Also: How to remember what you have read
Artificial Causes Of Reduced Interest In Reading
This reduced interest in reading is as a result of what you permit. Sometimes, what you permit can be permanent. That is why you should not pet what should be a pest to you. The following acts killed your appetite for reading:
1. You have joined bad gang
Who you follow determines what follows you. When you follow those who have already lost interest in reading, you will definitely lose your interest as well. Before you change the change, investigate what caused the change.
2.You Gave up
When the course seems very difficult to understand, reading becomes boring. Your reduced interest in reading could be because you gave up on trying. It is time to move on.
3. Last failure
I studied very hard the last time but still did not perform well. This is the excuse of many students. This mindset can reduce your interest in study.
4. Things are taking your attention
My second law states that, ” attention can neither be created nor destroyed, however, it can be changed from one form to another”. If reading doesn’t interest you anymore, it implies that something else is taking the.
It could be the opposite sex or pursuit of money taking your attention away from studies. In any case, if what is taking your attention is not worth it, quit it.
5. Know it All Attitude
“Know it all attitude” makes you too big for people to carry along. When people cannot carry you along, you will definitely loose in the long run. This can harm your study life. Try to associate and share ideas with others around.
6. Too many things on your mind
When you have so many things bordering you, you will definitely lose concentration easily.
The more the worries persist, the greater the distractions. If this is your challenge, quickly read my article on how to study for long hours without losing concentrations. It is loaded.
Share this with friends and do not fail to drop your comment below…..
Anonymous says
Working and studying is what am currently facing. What do you suggest I do to improve my reading habits.
Anonymous says
Same here, i have professional exam,,,and I am working too…What take my attention is movies..and it’s really annoying
Taiwo Olatunde Samuel. says
i think mine is as a result of my dads nature kind of job, having transfer here and there, so this actually reduced the paste of my education and struggling out of secondary school, i find myself learning, now coming back to reading after 9 to 10 years after realizing i needed to be educated, i found my self struggling to understand i must confess. and thanks for your wonderful motivational write ups, God bless and more wisdom.