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"We need more books for young men"
🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

"We need more books for young men"

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Florian Lorenzen, who runs the Instagram account "literatur_kanon," has gained nearly 100,000 followers by discussing complex topics like post-liberalism and philosophy.
  • Lorenzen believes it's possible to convey demanding literary and philosophical concepts through accessible social media formats.
  • He notes a decline in reading among young people due to smartphone use and changes in educational curricula, exacerbated by AI's ability to summarize texts.

Florian Lorenzen has cultivated a significant online following, approaching 100,000 users on his Instagram account "literatur_kanon," by engaging with sophisticated subjects such as post-liberalism, Bourdieu's theories on habitus, and the works of Herta Müller. He began five and a half years ago by posting book reviews and fostering community discussions, primarily focusing on demanding non-fiction books in philosophy, history, politics, and society.

On Instagram or TikTok, there are only snippets. Complex thought structures or the universe of a novel are reduced to a few sentences.

— Florian LorenzenDescribing the challenge of conveying complex ideas on social media.

Lorenzen's success expanded with formats like a "reading guide" that explains schools of thought and short videos featuring documentary and TV clips. His aim is to inform, inspire, and stimulate discussion. He acknowledges the challenge of condensing complex ideas into social media's bite-sized content, stating, "On Instagram or TikTok, there are only snippets. Complex thought structures or the universe of a novel are reduced to a few sentences." He strives to bridge this gap, presenting niche books and unfamiliar schools of thought in a low-threshold, visually appealing manner without oversimplifying.

Lorenzen attributes the decline in reading among young people to several factors. He points to the proven decrease in attention spans due to intensive smartphone use. Furthermore, he observes that reading is no longer consistently passed down from home, creating a negative cycle. Educational standards have also lowered, with curricula shifting away from classics and challenging texts, diminishing young people's exposure to potentially engaging literature.

The reading is no longer passed down from home. And that is then a vicious circle.

— Florian LorenzenExplaining the generational decline in reading habits.

The rise of artificial intelligence presents another challenge, Lorenzen notes, as AI can provide instant summaries, potentially reducing the incentive to read texts independently. This, he believes, further erodes reading comprehension and the ability to engage with difficult material, such as older literature or academic books.

AI: You can have everything summarized at the push of a button, perhaps not even factually incorrect. And then you don't read it at all.

— Florian LorenzenDiscussing the impact of artificial intelligence on reading.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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