Can Teenagers Read?

Can teenagers read? Teacher Support &/or Advice I don’t want to be “old man yells at cloud,” but I was playing battlefield and a young man in my squad was asking how to say a word. Obviously I don’t know what word he’s looking at, so I tell him “I can’t tell you how to say a word if I don’t know what word you’re looking at,” and I ask him to spell it. He spells the word “grenade.” Shocked, I said, “oh, so you don’t know how to read.” He tells me he knows how to read but he’s never seen that word before. First, he is playing battlefield. If the word “grenade” is anywhere, it’s there. Second, if he’s saying he only knows how to read words that he’s seen before, my opinion is that’s not reading, it’s memorizing shapes. Third, if he can spell out the word, he knows what the letters are but doesn’t know what sounds they make? Is this common? Is “reading” for younger people just rote memorization now? I don’t have kids and don’t interact with them at all, so I’m curious if this is the average. Thanks for your time.

A teacher writes about playing Battlefield with a young squadmate who asks how to pronounce a word. When asked to spell it, the teenager spells “grenade,” leading the teacher to joke that he can memorize familiar word shapes but cannot truly read unfamiliar words. The post is used as an absurd, sarcastic reaction to concerns about younger people’s literacy and gaming culture.

• @eternalclassic / 79819 2025-12-05