Are Books Going Out of Style?

I remember as a young child not being super keen on reading books. I was proud of myself for knowing how to read by the time I arrived in kindergarten, but besides that I was not interested in read at all. For years I just felt like there was no point. Who cares about books? After a while my mother felt I was watching too much TV and banned me from it during the week. I did sneak a show or two in from time to time, but for the most part my attitude towards TV after "The Ban" changed. Reading became my default pastime in middle and high school and although I didn't care much for it at the time, I appreciated it so much now.

I owe my interest in books and a large part of my ability to communicate fairly well to this time in my life. I don't have the most extensive vocabulary and I'm not the best writer there is, but I feel like I can hold my own, due to the pages and pages of books I ended up reading growing up. It also gave me a feeling of autonomy. If I needed information, I knew how to find it. I was quite accustomed to locating a particular text in the library by figuring out which floor, section, and shelf it would be on using the Dewey Decimal System.

I worked with high school students for a while before my current job at UB and I remember feeling concerned for the students I worked with. They did not seem very enthusiastic about anything at all that had to do with reading or finding information. Anything that was spoon-fed to them wasn't interesting. The idea of sitting through a book was too dull to be bothered with. I worry sometimes that with an increase in technology and lighting fast technology at our fingertips that maybe we're losing something valuable in the taking the time to read through a good book. I just feel like reading is going out of style and it's disconcerting.

But maybe I'm exaggerating. I would tell myself constantly at my old job that my students were teenagers and what teenager likes to read? But then I remember that I loved to read as a teen. I even remember passing my books around to friends to read certain passages. Granted, it was often something that made me giggle like profanity which was just hilarious to see in print at 12- or 13-years-old, but I do remember passing along actual book recommendations at a young age. 

What are your thoughts on reading as a pastime? Do you think it holds any value for young folks these days? Is it slipping away or just changing? Are students picking up vocabulary or structural grammar skills elsewhere? I feel like young people are losing interest and it makes me sad. What are your thoughts?