The reading stargate, that is the passage we are going through

Abstract

An analysis of changes occurred in the last twenty years in the field of reading must start from an evaluation of the role that some external factors have had on cultural consumption and individual behavior, among which the pervasiveness of the web and the intensive use of social networks stands out. The web has put in our pockets a boundless universe of information, knowledge, distractions, needs and pleasures, which in a short time has made irremediably old everything that existed before and has made the book lose – at least in the eyes of the youngest – the centrality that this tool has exercised for centuries in cultural communication and training processes, to make way for new ‘styles of knowledge’.

The distancing measures imposed by Covid-19 have also caused a strong and sudden acceleration of the transfer of many human activities on the web, throwing us into an unknown world and a science fiction climate, like the one described in the movie and the TV series Stargate.

In this context, the publishing world is asking for measures to stimulate demand and support to businesses, but a broader planning that invests the production and publishing offer is needed, the way products are circulated and marketed and the contexts in which reading practices are developed, exploiting the potential of digital and intriguing new groups of readers. However, the most significant transformations will be the result of the lifestyles that will spread in the post-Covid era: these lifestyles will affect urban planning, the survival of local bookshops and local public services, such as basic libraries.