Turning Pages or Scrolling Past?

Every year, World Book and Copyright Day arrives with earnest reminders about the value of reading, publishing, and protecting intellectual property. Yet, behind the symbolism lies an uncomfortable question: are we still a reading society?

The evidence suggests otherwise. Reading, once a quiet habit woven into daily life, is steadily being replaced by scrolling, swiping, and short-form consumption. This is not just about children or Gen Z—who are often blamed for dwindling attention spans—but equally about adults who have quietly drifted away from books. The culture of sustained reading is eroding across generations.

For publishers and authors, this shift is more than a cultural concern—it is existential. A shrinking, distracted audience means fewer risks, safer content, and a gradual decline in literary diversity. Physical books, once cherished objects, now compete with glowing screens in classrooms and homes. In many primary schools, digital devices are replacing textbooks, raising a deeper question: are we trading comprehension for convenience?

Then comes the more complex disruption—artificial intelligence. With AI tools now capable of generating essays, stories, and even entire books, the idea of authorship itself is being challenged. If a machine can “write,” who owns the words? And if content can be produced endlessly at minimal cost, what happens to originality, effort, and creative ownership?

Copyright, once a cornerstone of intellectual protection, now finds itself in uncertain territory. Laws designed for human creators are struggling to keep pace with machine-generated content. The risk is not just legal confusion, but the dilution of value attached to writing itself.

World Book and Copyright Day should not be reduced to ceremonial observance. It must provoke a reckoning. If reading becomes optional and writing becomes automated, we risk losing not just books, but the very depth of thought they nurture.