From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Internet reading. Is it speeding us up by dumbing us down?

Hello again, I'm Mormon Alney, and this is an archived edition of To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

Human beings are not genetically programmed to read.

They have to learn over time by reading books, but books are giving way to the Internet.

As reading scores decline, some researchers claim the Internet is promoting superficial thinking

instead of the wisdom that comes with patient study.

On to the point, nobody wants to get rid of books, but kids spend more time on the Internet.

Should schools teach them to use it critically?

Should Internet 1A be part of the basic curriculum?

On reporter's notebook later on, will Barack Obama be a special challenge for stand-up comedians?

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, and happy New Year. I'm Mormon Alney, back with a repeat broadcast of To the Point.

More and more kids spend long hours on the Internet. At the same time, reading scores are declining.

Is there a connection? On To the Point, does the brain work differently with a book than with a

computer?

What's the impact on reading proficiency?

Should schools just recognize that young people are on the Internet and teach them how to use it well?

On reporter's notebook, what's Barack Obama's role in the world of comedy?

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