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 whole country. In addition to affecting personal, illiteracy also have an big influence on the country and society. World-wide statistic shows that illiteracy problems are associated with poverty and a lack of political power (Country Reports 2000). The first thing is illiterate people have worse health and bigger families, which leads to a huge burden for themselves and their countries. For instance, in the rural areas of China, there are still lots of people who are illiteracy and live on relief. They have to work in the farms or factories with worse condition because of lack of knowledge. The other thing is the effects of illiteracy negatively impact a country’s economy. Because nowadays new careers in the high-tech jobs are mostly offered in those countries which have literate populations. In a other words, the level of knowledge of people in a country , to a large extent, will have a big influence on the development of economy. Thus, there is a fact that countries with a high illiteracy rate are more likely to be poor in the world. In short, due to so much negative effects come form illiteracy, it is urgent issue for not only personal growth but also the development of society.