Literacy Decline Threatens Democratic Competence

Large, replicated datasets (time‑use surveys and international literacy assessments) plus instructors’ reports indicate sustained declines in deep reading and reading‑comprehension skills. If longform reading continues to fall, civic competence — the ability to follow complex arguments, evaluate sources, and participate in deliberative democracy — will be weakened across electorates. — This reframes 'reading decline' from a cultural lament into a democratic risk that should shape education, media, and civic‑policy agendas.