Culture news One Piece combats screen addiction among young people: this study is clear!
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Along with Dragon Ball, One Piece is one of the most important and influential manga of all time. Sold in millions of copies around the world, including in France, this “paper” work encourages younger generations to read rather than stay with their eyes glued to their smartphones. The saga of Eiichiro Oda would be the perfect cure for screen addiction.
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An implacable observation
The information did not go unnoticed by French intellectuals and literature lovers. According to a survey conducted by the National Book Center (CNL) and published on April 9, 2024 among 1,500 young people, the average reading time per day among children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 is alarming. They spend only 19 minutes per day reading compared to 3 hours and 11 minutes in front of screens, whether it be a smartphone, a television, a tablet or even a computer.
This process of dropping out of reading becomes more pronounced with age. If 7-12 year olds read on average 23 minutes daily, this figure drops to 12 minutes for 16-19 year olds who, on the other hand, spend 5 hours and 10 minutes on any screen. For Arnaud Fabre, associate professor of literature teaching in a college in Maisons-Alfort (Val-de-Marne), 'These results are not surprising… quite the contrary. He would even be defeatist if his latest statements are to be believed, but there is still hope thanks to… ONE PIECE!
The observation is relentless, not sure that we can stop it!
They read little, and instead, they… watch TikTok videos on smartphones. – Arnaud Fabre (associate professor of literature)
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One Piece to fight against screen addiction
However, there is a remedy for the “literary” dropout of new generations and by extension for their emerging and/or consummate addiction to screens. The manga would even be the key to unlocking this situation. Indeed, France is one of the main “consumers” of manga in the world behind Japan, and among the successful sagas, One Piece is the undisputed leader today. Since its beginnings in 1997, the adventures of Luffy and his crew have sold 38.7 million copies in France alone, and this success is not about to stop. For Valérie Louchart, French teacher, it is a blessing because…
Any reading is good to hook a young person and help them read
Reading is important because it is an action, we are active. Unlike the consumption of screens where we ingest images, it engages the body, we put ourselves in a comfortable position, we hold the book and turn the pages. It also engages the imagination and develops critical thinking, even more so in children. – Valérie Louchart (French teacher)
Former Minister of Culture Rima Abdul-Malak, for her part, commented on the evolution of “literary” purchases with the Culture Pass since its beginnings. “When the Culture Pass was launched, there was a phenomenon of rush on mangas, and 70% of the books purchased on the Culture Pass were mangas, but today it is less than 30% of the books purchased on the Culture Pass.” Several booksellers are also moving in this direction by specifying changes in book consumption habits among young people:
When a young person goes into a bookstore to buy a manga, in half of the cases they also leave with a book that is not a manga. – Rima Abdul-Malak (former Minister of Culture)
One Piece, but also Demon Slayer, Boruto, My Hero Academia or Jujutsu Kaisen without forgetting the immortal Dragon Ball… mangas could in their own way attract new generations towards more “classic” literature. This is the postulate defended by Sevan Elmayan (president of the Okaelille Japanese culture association) and Valérie Louchart (French teacher).
We must put all chances on the students' side by picking up young people where they are and then leading them towards classic literature.