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America Has a Big Reading Comprehension Problem

7 min read2 days ago

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Photo by Tycho Atsma on Unsplash

Something I’ve realized from reading the comments on my articles is just how many people apparently don’t know how to read properly.

No matter how much context I put into a piece, no matter how clearly I explain my point, there’s always a wave of people who comment something completely disconnected from my main idea. It’s like they read a few words, maybe just the title, and then invented their own version of what I said.

At first I thought it was just a few people not paying attention. But it kept happening, over and over, not only in my article but also in the news, on other social media, and even in Instagram posts, until I realized this isn’t a small problem. It’s a pattern.

A huge number of people are reading things, or more accurately not reading things, and then confidently sharing opinions about content they never actually understood.

People react to headlines without reading the story. They argue about news they only half understood. They form strong opinions about situations they never took the time to actually learn about.

They want to have a say on everything while refusing to do the basic work of understanding what they’re talking about first.

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Desiree Peralta
Desiree Peralta

Written by Desiree Peralta⁠

Turning ideas into reality. Programmer by profession, Writer by passion. Finance and business advice. | Weekly money advice https://dessyperalt.substack.com/