What do you think about average reading comprehension

[NotaNuffian]

Okay bit of a rant here.

Spoiler: Rant

While i read some comment on some manga. Quite a lot comment say "Why mc is a meek/ a pussy" while in chapter 1 it already said that mc mother is quite abusive mentally, always downplay mc something like "why you always useless".

And in the story, because he need guarantor for his apartment even if tehnically he can live with his friend or have his friend become the guarantor, he choose his mom. But then some comment "why would he ask his *bad word* mother to be his guarantor. He should leave his mother rotting alone".

Okay firstly, what the problem with being meek / a pussy, not all people can be brave, heck as someone that go with the current i can see myself being meek if i cant find what i good at and feel useless. And in story his meek is explained because his parent.

And he call his mom to be guarantor is the closure he need. The manga already tell that he care about other especially his friend so he doesnt want to incovinient her. And he think by becoming independent and not running away from the problem is what what he can do to stop worrying his friend. And what the best way to start it than to fix / find closure to his old problem, by proving that he is not useless to his mother.

Yes, all of that is inline with what the character would based on what the manga already tell.

And that is the story that tell the reader staight forward without hidden meaning, implecation, double speak, and etc etc.

What do you guys think current average reading comprehension?

Some of my friend even feel that reading one paragraf already make him confuse, bored, or too lazy

So since everyone is doing the Jojo part 5 group kicking on reading comprehension dot gif, I would like to tackle on what is in the spoiler.

The reason why people might be grated by the MC is that they see themselves in him.

I am projecting right now so I might be wrong, but there are some who saw MC as their proxy and when said MC was not doing what they want, immersion broken.

And then they make their frustration very public.

Ps. I can't use online caption to add proper subtitle.

 

[Ruti]

What do you guys think current average reading comprehension?

A story could outright directly say that the MC's mother died

and then people would wonder why MC is depressed, saying their being cringe. Like what?

 

[Golden_Hyde]

I might be biased, but general manga readers doesn't strike me as people with high reading comprehension
Your average adult these days seems to be a person with symptoms of ADHD who simply wants to be distracted for a little while and reads only for pleasure. Don't go too tough on them

Oh, you're being generous at that too. Look where they're going with YouTube. They're a bunch of silver spoon-fed lazy motherfuckers that only listen to AI-voiced "manga recap" channel.

Sometimes modern "weebs" that are mostly consist of FOMO schmucks pisses me off the most.

 

[Daitengu]

2024-2025 Literacy Statistics | National Literacy

2024-2025 Literacy Statistics

www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com

• 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
• 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).

It's gone down hill ever since the Federal Dept of Education was instituted.

Those are facts. My thoughts is that government positions not having accountability have ruined education. Then there's the fact that at least half of both Rep and Dem parties are full of grifting trash doesn't help. I mean Hilary Clinton stated she rather just take immigrants than fix low birth rates. With that kind of stance, it's no surprise they don't care about bloat or corruption in the dept of Education. I mean less than 25% of DoE funds actually go towards improving student education.

It's a damn shame, and authors have to dumb down their stories to attract more of the populace.

 

[Ruti]

• 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).

Can't believe 5th grade me had a higher reading level then adults

 

[Fairemont]

There is no denying that reading skills are dwindling, at least in America.

 

[butierHHF]

TBH, the actual reading comprehension is worse than I expected even among regular readers.

 

[LiteraryWho]

Although everyone talking about the decline of reading comprehension is no doubt correct, I think the specific issue you're addressing is a question of audience. Basically, that manga you're reading was presented to a group of man(and woman?)-children who lack the emotional intelligence necessary to comprehend the world outside of their own incredibly narrow bubble.

There isn't really a solution to this, but you could at least start reading better material yourself. I suggest a nice Jane Austin novel.

 

[blotchybrothblobs]

Apart from reading comprehension, I'd like to focus on the inability to concentrate on reading. That feeling that OP's friend expressed, that reading even a single paragraph makes them feel extremely bored and sluggish.

Personally, if I start thinking "This is boring, I don't wanna do that, that's boring, nothing matters..", it's usually at the end of a day or in the middle of the night... But it goes away if I sleep properly for a couple days, so maybe it could be due to a sort of mental fatigue? Or, at least, it contributes to that feeling?

It's not a perfect comparison for me though since I read constantly to ease that feeling of nihility. I already like to read novels; it's fun for me. Thus, for me, it's not something I avoid and can't bear to try and do when I feel like I'm in the headspace to doomscroll.

 

[LuoirM]

It's bad, it's always been bad, even in my high school class here in Vietnam (not arguably better education than USA), some of the students can't even read a passage from a story and they most were in awed because I can deliver and read with different tones and it's so simple like-

 

[Ruti]

It's bad, it's always been bad, even in my high school class here in Vietnam (not arguably better education than USA), some of the students can't even read a passage from a story and they most were in awed because I can deliver and read with different tones and it's so simple like-

I could read an entire book in a day in freshmen year if I wanted to
meanwhile my class mates could barely read a passage...

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

The problem I have is reading and writing in parallel. I got halfway through Les Mis last year and dropped it cos I had a new story idea.

 

[Navillus]

People will always have difficulty comprehending things they haven't personally experienced, such as an abusive mother. Often, people gravitate towards stories that resonate with their experiences on an emotional level.

I’ve personally found that if you have a deep understanding of yourself you can often times simulate such things in your head to relate… you just have to remember that plot doesn’t exist in reality and you’ll be golden… though I’m not sure how easily this can be done as I’ve always found it easy to replace, change or manipulate my memories and personality-nyah.

 

[DeepWater]

It's bad, it's always been bad, even in my high school class here in Vietnam (not arguably better education than USA), some of the students can't even read a passage from a story and they most were in awed because I can deliver and read with different tones and it's so simple like-

Vietnam has a high average IQ too

 

[zhai036]

Okay bit of a rant here.

Spoiler: Rant

While i read some comment on some manga. Quite a lot comment say "Why mc is a meek/ a pussy" while in chapter 1 it already said that mc mother is quite abusive mentally, always downplay mc something like "why you always useless".

And in the story, because he need guarantor for his apartment even if tehnically he can live with his friend or have his friend become the guarantor, he choose his mom. But then some comment "why would he ask his *bad word* mother to be his guarantor. He should leave his mother rotting alone".

Okay firstly, what the problem with being meek / a pussy, not all people can be brave, heck as someone that go with the current i can see myself being meek if i cant find what i good at and feel useless. And in story his meek is explained because his parent.

And he call his mom to be guarantor is the closure he need. The manga already tell that he care about other especially his friend so he doesnt want to incovinient her. And he think by becoming independent and not running away from the problem is what what he can do to stop worrying his friend. And what the best way to start it than to fix / find closure to his old problem, by proving that he is not useless to his mother.

Yes, all of that is inline with what the character would based on what the manga already tell.

And that is the story that tell the reader staight forward without hidden meaning, implecation, double speak, and etc etc.

What do you guys think current average reading comprehension?

Some of my friend even feel that reading one paragraf already make him confuse, bored, or too lazy

My two cents:
1. Schools today (or at least in my country) often emphasize speed reading tests over deep reading comprehension. If you're a preschooler who isn't fluent in English and can't read a sentence within three seconds, teachers might label you as below average in intelligence. Because of this, some parents start using speed and fluency as the standard for their kids, forgetting that actually *understanding* what they're reading matters way more than just being able to read it quickly.
2. A lot of media today trains the brain to skim, not sit with complex material (Tiktok, YT shorts). It teaches the brain "If I don't like, I move on" instead of "Slow down, ask why?, reflect."
3. Some people don’t read regularly anymore, and like any skill, comprehension weakens without practice.

---

Elitism​

 

[Woolen_Monkey]

I don't know a lot about statistics or stuff like that, so I won't bring any up. Instead, I'll talk about why people complain about manga, manhwa, etc.

The ones who complain after the first chapter or so about how the MC acts are usually just there for a quick and easy hit—like druggies, almost. They're looking to escape reality quickly and frequently. They want to see an overpowered MC with all the girls so they can put themselves in his shoes and feel better. At least, that's how I see it.

In these cases of I don't believe reading comprehension plays that big of a role as even if it was there they don't use it. They aren't there to understand but to consume. If that makes sense.

That's a big reason why I don't trust ratings a lot when it comes to manga and similar stuff. There are quite a few gems that have been buried because of their slow pacing and such. ?

*Edit* Sorry about the rant. It's just something that's been on my mind and when you brought up manga I just started typing my thoughts. ????