The Effects of Illiteracy in Adults

The effects of illiteracy in adults

Millions of people in the world are illiterate. Even in western countries, like America and the UK, about 20% of the population have this serious problem. What is illiteracy? Some experts define it as not having the reading and writing skills that you need to be independent in your everyday life (Linda. Raxtex). In fact, being illiterate can have many effects on people’s lives.

Basically, reading and writing are important skills for everyone especially in modern society. The development of high technology brings people much more convenience and comfort while it pushes people to improve the average ability of whole human beings .As a result of this, some who can not read or write will face too much trouble in their daily lives. For example, without these skills, they can not read newspaper, instructions of medicine and warning signals in public place, and also they can not write emails, contracts, or even sign their names in right blanks of bank statements. So, undoubtedly, they will feel ashamed or embarrassed if people around them are literate, then they fear to contact with the world outside and eventually be isolated by the increasing technology.

Furthermore, it is less opportunity for people who are illiterate to find a proper job and even get the respect of others. A study in the UK showed that people who write and spell badly are seen as careless, immature, and unreliable, and often unintelligent (England education 2005). So it is more difficult for them to get jobs because the employers prefer to employ some mature and calm persons with responsible personality. Meanwhile, more and more students who have received higher education graduated form universities, and they are more competitive for doing any work. As a consequence, these people who are illiterate could not raise their families by themselves since they have to choose manual works with low salary. It will cause a big pressure for their families even the...