Burkina Faso: The decline of reading risks a generation's future

In Burkina Faso, a concerning trend sees reading increasingly treated as a burden, with many preferring the endless scroll of social media over the pages of a book. This preference for fleeting online content over sustained reading is creating a generation that speaks with confidence but lacks true mastery of subjects, becoming "specialists of everything and experts in nothing."

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When a people stops reading books and newspapers, it gradually gives up thinking for itself.

The article laments that even adults, who should guide younger generations, are abandoning books and newspapers. They spend more time on screens than on intellectual pursuits, contributing to a decline in critical thinking. The author stresses that the internet, while a vast resource, is often used as a mere entertainment platform instead of an "open-air university."

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We prefer to count the beers downed, the conquests displayed, the most viral videos, the rumors of the day and the publications without a tomorrow, rather than seeking to know the great authors, the ideas to acquire and the knowledge to conquer.

The piece argues that a nation's future is not built on distractions or insignificant content but on its libraries, schools, and citizens' commitment to learning and general culture. The day a people stops reading, it risks losing its ability to think independently and its future.

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A nation does not prepare its future with minds saturated with distractions and on a drip feed of insignificant content.