PNR 289 – editorial (May-June 2026)
How concerned should we be? The Bookseller on 20 April was plenty concerned. ‘Nearly a third of children cannot use books when they start school, with some even trying to swipe and zoom on the pages, a survey from Kindred Squared has shown. The research was part of their school readiness survey earlier this year, where more than half of teachers cited children’s and parents’ excessive screen time as a key reason for children not being “school ready”.’
On the other hand, it is doubtful that even very little children have ever spent more time reading, gaming – and writing – than they do now with their iPhones and tablets. No wonder they are disappointed when pages need to be turned rather than swiped, and when they can’t blow up the text with their fingertips, enjoy animation in the illustrations, and turn the book off when they’re bored.
What they read and what and how they write are another matter. There are various resources not familiar or available to older readers – the world of emojis, for example, or of extreme abbreviations, though grown-ups have developed an acronym-emaciated language quite as infuriating as the rapidly morphing language of children. Some are familiar from relatively long use: PS, BTW, ASAP, ETA, BCC, FWD, FYI. Recent arrivals include WFH and PFA. Others puzzle us and can have two or three possible readings (not ambiguity but confusion) […]