New generation lost the art of reading a book

It provides much-needed mental stimulation, writes Dennis Fitzgerald from Melbourne.

With school holidays starting and finishing around the world to the cheers or jeers of many students, there is the regular “book report” to consider. Time to Google what a book is. Some students may have the alternative version – “what I did over the holidays”.

If teachers want to make this more challenging, they could add “that didn’t involve typing or scrolling”.

To make it even more difficult they could add “and written by hand on paper”.

This was once a routine homework task for most people reading this paper.

Maybe the schools should set some compulsory homework – go outside into the sunlight and read a physical book for an hour.

There is an urgent need for this physically passive exercise that provides much-needed mental stimulation.