Rebecca Lee
Editor-in-Chief

I was curled up in my bed at 2 a.m. with a familiar ache in my back, but I refused to go to sleep and continued to flip page after page of my novel. The current series that is filling my free time is the “The Hunger Games” trilogy.

Although my sister had been pestering me for the past year to read the series, I decided to act on her advice only recently because the film version was about to be released — and it’s always better to read the book before watching the movie.

But I seem to be in the minority. Only 7 percent of teens say they read during their spare time while more than twice as many use computers and other types of technology, according to a study by the Global Children’s Fund.

Fewer teens read leisure novels than those who spend their time watching television, instant messaging friends online or clicking away on Facebook or other social networking websites.

In fact, American 15 to 24-year olds spend almost two hours a day watching TV and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading, according to a National Endowment for the Arts study.

With more teens filling their time glued to a computer screen, whether it is for homework or fun, reading can seem like it takes more effort than watching a video or listening to music. Although these same activities take time away that can be designated for reading, new technologies have made it easier to carry even the heaviest of books.

Teens may have moved on from reading hardbound and paperback books to digital text versions, but even though e-reader and tablet ownership has doubled from six to 12 percent from November 2010 to May 2011, according to Pew Research Center, it does not necessarily mean more people are reading.

While delving into an author’s words, readers do not only improve their comprehension and expand their vocabulary, but they also develop better writing skills, enhancing their critical reading and reasoning abilities and improving their attention span and memory, according to Impact Publishing.

The San Francisco Public Library has created enticing methods to encourage teens to keep on reading and expanding their own library. The Great Teen Book Swap gives participants a free book from an assortment chosen by a teen librarian in exchange for writing a review for the library.

Books can be great stress relievers because they allow the reader to step away from her own reality and enter a new world where anyone can enter the thoughts and world of unique characters.

I don’t need to go too far to find a book. I have a pile waiting for me at home on my bedside table and my laptop will always be there, so it is easy enough to put down the electronics and pick up a book instead.