When I was younger and in elementary school, I was obsessed with reading. Whenever I had free time, I constantly longed for a book in my hands and would sit on the couch for hours, often being forced to stop reading by my parents.
However, as soon as I got my first phone in 6th grade and started playing video games more, my time reading gradually diminished, and I eventually reached a point where I wouldn’t bother reading anything unless it was for school. Recently, I’ve gotten back into reading for reasons that I will touch on. Now, I realize that only a small handful of kids at my high school reads in their free time. In fact, according to The Washington Post, only around 10% of people aged 15-24 read for their personal interest on a given day (see chart below).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And can you blame these high school and college students? As social media and video games continue to become more prominent in teenage lives, the thought of picking up a book hardly ever crosses a high schooler’s mind. When given the choice between browsing social media or picking up a book, the vast majority of high schoolers would choose social media. Why is this is a problem? Books can teach high schoolers and college students what school cannot. Have you ever been in a class that talked the stocks, real estate, or financial literacy? Probably not. Sadly, schools don’t cover some of the most vital information that a teenager needs to be successful in their future. By picking up good books to read, we can teach ourselves what we want and need to learn before we go out into the world.
Books are a great way for people, especially young people to invest in themselves. For the price of 5-20 dollars per book, we are exposing ourselves to a wealth of knowledge. As a teenager, books are one of the best ways that you can start investing, as educating ourselves through books will allow us to be successful later on in life. Investing in our education and skills will allow us to invest money effectively in the future. To any fellow teens that are reading this: If you are still spending hours browsing social media, reading is the move. The time investment is well-worth it. While the majority of other people our age are lost in the world of social media and aren’t learning anything beneficial, the ones who read and focus on gaining knowledge will prosper.
Thank you all for reading, feel free to leave a comment/share my post.
Ryan's Investing Journey 